I Believe In Ghosts Do you?
by MyLuckTookAWalk
Summary: Kyoko has an unusual ability; to her horror, she can see spirits and ghosts. What happens when she meets a certain young man when she's on her way back home from work? Will they instantly get along or will things be a little more complicated than that? R&R please! Warnings : AU, OOC.
1. Prologue

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

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Hey guys! So the readers of my fanfiction 'A Different Dawn' know that I decided to turn chapter 20 (which is this exact chapter) into a multi chapter fanfcition.

Anyway, this is the prologue I wish you guys will enjoy this story and let me know what you think of it!

Thanks to my beta reader/editor **Theriechenbachevent** for her hard work!

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 **Prologue : I Believe in Ghosts. Do You?**

 _Ugh!_ Kyoko cringed making her way through the tombstones, she just had to live at the end of a cemetery and she just had to be the freak with an ability to see supernatural creatures!

 _'Keep walking, don't look, don't look, don't look!'_ She told herself inwardly, sliding her way through the ghosts and specters around her. The phrase had become her daily mantra.

Kyoko was a young woman in her twenties who worked at a drugstore and even though she would much rather have preferred the night shift, her boss insisted on enforcing his 'no female workers at night' policy. While said policy might have been practical for the safety of your 'normal female', Kyoko was worried about a different kind of safety. In her mind, she'd be far safer working through the night shift rather than walking through the graveyard after her afternoon shift ended.

"Just act naturally, they usually don't act up if they think someone can't see them."

"Eeeep!" Kyoko yelped at the deep voice that brought her out of her musings, half stumbling over her own feet. The owner of the voice was a young man, clad in dark jeans and a gray hoodie. He was quite tall, much taller than her. His hair was dark but seemed to be quite soft and for a moment she caught herself thinking what would it feel like if she touched it. He looked at her through his chocolate brown eyes, his lips curled up in an amused smile.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" he asked, the grin turning sheepish at her obvious surprise.

Kyoko's mind briefly flashed her images of her mother warning her not to talk to strangers, before she discarded them.

'Screw it! I'm more scared of those things than of him right now.' She thought. Anything would be a welcome distraction to her current predicament.

"That's alright." She said after finding her voice again. "Can you see them too?"

"Yes, for quite sometime now." He said. "I'm Ren by the way."

"Kyoko. Mogami Kyoko." Kyoko smiled, a bit relaxed now that she weren't alone. "Nice to meet you Ren-san."

"The pleasure is all mine." He chuckled at her politeness. "So what would a young lady like you be doing in a cemetery at this time of night?" he asked.

"Well, my house is at the other end of it and I just got out of work." Unfortunately for her, walking home after the sunset was just as bad as doing it at midnight. In fact those things seemed to be the most active at twilight,that bizarre slice of time between sunlight and sundown.

"Why are you living there? If you don't mind me asking of course." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, the house was in my family way before it turned into a graveyard and for some reason my mom didn't want to sell it and move away from this creepy place…something about keeping the property in the family or whatever."

"I see." he shrugged "Guess you could always get your own place later on…"

"Assuming I'd be able to afford it." She snorted at the ludicrousness of the suggestion.

"Student loans?" he asked dryly.

"What else?" They exchanged a knowing look before they both started laughing, bonding over the inside joke that only students would understand.

"So how long have you being seeing these guys Kyoko-chan?" he asked gesturing to one of the spirits lurking nearby.

"Basically…since I was born, or at least for as long as I can remember…" She shivered at the thought.

"And you're still not used to them?" he asked incredulously.

"Are you?" she retorted without hesitating.

"Guess you could say I don't really have a choice." He said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Well, no matter how many times they pop out, I just can't act cool about it." She paused "That's my place, guess this is goodbye." She said.

Now that she thought about it, her house was the only inhabited place around, so where was he going? She was lost in thought before a cold hand pulling at her ankle brought her back to the current situation

"Aaaack!" She kicked the thing away, making her stumble back, crashing into Ren's broad chest.

"Sorry, I get a little jumpy walking through a cemetery haha." She joked, as she pulled away to stand on her own, trying to brush off the embarrassing incident.

"That's alright, I used to get scared when I was alive too." He said as he turned to walk away, leaving her in a frozen state.

'No freaking way.' She thought, not daring to believe what he'd just said.

"See you tomorrow Kyoko-chan." He turned and waved at her before fading into a thin cloud of mist.

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 **A/N: The next chapter, ch1 should be up as well!**


	2. Chapter 1

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

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Hi guys! Here's chapter one, I hope you'll enjoy it! Thanks to the sweetest Beta reader and editor aver **Theriechenbachevent**!

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 **Ch1: Stubborn!**

She pulled her sheets over her face in an attempt to shield her eyes from the sun's rays and rolled over groaning, feeling very sleep deprived and annoyed that she had to endure this.

What was this? Like the third night in a row now? She had been getting less than four hours of sleep due to her unusual… predicament. Ghost activity reached the highest point during the autumn season after all. Some ghosts liked to make a fuss at the graveyard and with Kyoko being such a light sleeper, it always disturbed her.

When realized that squeezing her eyes shut and trying to fall back into sleep wasn't going to work, the young woman rolled in her sheets one last time before resigning herself to the fact that she needed to get up. Thus, slowly, she opened her golden eyes, blinked the darkness away and waited for the white spots to disappear… only to meet a pair of brown eyes?

 _Hang on...that doesn't seem right._ Thinking she was still asleep and dreaming, she closed her eyes tightly and mentally ordered herself to wake up.

She opened her eyes again, just as slowly as she did the first time. The pair of brown eyes was still there and staring back at her.

Kyoko frowned and pinched herself. _Ouch!_ Yes, she was definitely awake.

 _Maybe he's my husband?_ She thought, realizing right away how absurd that sounded.

 _No, no, no… I'm pretty sure I'm still single._ She creased her eyebrows after invalidating that theory.

Ever the rational girl, Kyoko made one less attempt to make sense of the situation as she blew in her palm. _I don't think I'm drunk..._

That was it! She had to face the situation now! There was a dark haired, brown eyed man lying next to her.

 _There's only one option left now!_

And that was her last thought before letting out the loudest scream ever heard in human history.

* * *

"You know, I might be a ghost but I'm still capable of hearing. It's not polite to shriek when you get a guest, Kyoko-chan! Why were you so surprised anyway?"

Kyoko hugged her pillow, very much aware that she was staring at her 'guest'. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyebrows pinched.

She watched him with a confusing expression that he couldn't quite understand. It was a mix of fear, disbelief and … guilt? Her breathing was shallow, probably because she was still recovering from her previous state of shock and she nervously clenched her pillow closer to herself.

"Not answering when you're spoken to isn't very polite either!" He sulked, directing a displeased expression towards her. It would be prudent to note that at this point he was still lounging rather carelessly on _her_ bed. In _her_ room.

"I…Um." Kyoko took a deep breath and shook her head. "I'm sorry. Actually, I didn't really recognize you at first, seeing as this is only our second time meeting." She flushed, the expression nearing her original one of annoyance. "And, believe it or not, I don't always wake up to the face of a stranger staring at me!" She said, a bit irritated now that the embarrassment subsided. "What were you thinking? Do you always haunt girls' rooms when they're asleep?! Shame on you!" She scolded.

She was very surprised at how composed she was at the moment. She usually didn't 'interact' with ghosts. Aside from being terrified of them, they weren't exactly the chatty sort. Then again, it was a pleasant change having a spirit who didn't just stare at her with a vengeful expression or yell incoherent gibberish like a crazy person. Actually, he was the first ghost that seemed so … poised? No, not poised, just… normal. Like an actual person.

 _Shame on you, Kyoko! They were all people at some point_. She scolded herself mentally, for her callous observations, true or not. She shook her head inwardly, it was a bit hard to digest but she was sitting face to face with a ghost. Not just any ghost, but the same ghost that walked her home last night, chatting about other ghosts and student loans and whatnot. She had honestly thought he was a …living person, until he said those alarming parting words and then proceeded to fade into a thin mist.

"Well, I was bored walking around the house all night!" He complained, bringing her back from her musings. "And, No. For your information, I don't make it a habit to haunt girls' rooms when they're asleep!" He said in a tone that let her know how offended he was by her accusation. "It hasn't been that long since I died anyway…" He mumbled that last part looking down, picking at loose thread in her sheets.

Kyoko shifted in her seat, eying him suspiciously.

"What do you want anyway? I thought I made it clear enough last night that I'm not a big fan of ghosts!" She said, expressing her discomfort with their situation for the first time. He, on the other hand had made himself very comfortable. He was now sitting on her pale pink armchair, leaning back with his legs crossed and all. He seemed very relaxed indeed.

Ren arched an eyebrow. "You didn't even notice I was a ghost until I made it known to you!" He said, reminding her of how comfortable she was around him yesterday.

He cleared his throat after seeing her glare at him, thinking that maybe he ought to get to the point before she ran out of patience. After all, he was here for a reason. Although he had enjoyed last night's little talk, he wasn't here to make friends with her.

He straightened his back. Then, looking at her very seriously and in a deep, even tone he said "I need your help."

"My… help." She repeated uncertainly. He would have to forgive her for her gob smacked expression. It wasn't everyday that a ghost came to her, laid in her bed, scolded her for her -very normal- reaction and then asked for her help, all in the time span of …what? Twenty minutes?

"Haha…No. Goodbye now, I'm sure you know the way out!" She said. Deciding to treat this just like what it had seemed. A prank. A very elaborate one that seemed to have no visible punchline.

"Oh, come on, seriously?! Don't turn me down that fast! You didn't even ask what I needed help with!" He complained, the maturity he'd displayed a moment ago all but gone and his childish persona re-emerging with vigor.

 _Well, he's stubborn_. Kyoko winced internally. But she could be stubborn too. Two could play at this game.

"I don't care! I don't … deal with ghosts. Whatever it is you need help with, I'm not the person to ask. Now, shoo!" She got up from her bed and flailed her hands at him, as if chasing away a stray cat.

Despite her standing position, he was still sitting on the pink chair. "Kyoko-chan, please!" He begged, hunching his back in his seat, which made his well built body look considerably smaller. His lips were curved into a pathetic pout and his eyebrows were arched up, framing his lost puppy eyes.

Kyoko faltered for a moment, opening her mouth than closing it again like a goldfish. She shook her head to clear her mind. _Damn, this one comes with built in weaponry!_ She thought shuddering at how powerful that sad look was, pairing it with that pout and calling her by her first name, what a cunning ghost!

"No! Out!" She pointed to the door. Yes, that's how she was going to be. Twice as stubborn. She would not falter under any circumstances!

Sighing at her perseverance, he looked up at her with one of those looks bosses give to the employees they're about to fire, The **I-am-trying-to-look-sympathetic-but-I-Don't-really-care** look.

"Kyoko-chan, you leave me no choice." He said. "I'm sorry, but if you don't help me, I'll have to haunt your house."

 _You what?_

Her eyes widened. It's true that ghosts were pretty much everywhere she went, well … mostly at the graveyard, but they normally kept their distance. None of them had tried to haunt her house up thus far, aside from the occasional intrusion every now and then, but even that didn't last for long.

"Are you…threatening me?" She choked out, outrage seeping through her voice.

"Well, I did say please but you still wouldn't accept!" He shrugged, and leaned back into the arm chair, adding to her rapidly building fury.

 _This piece of shit is already acting like he owns the place!_

"You! I can't believe you! I-" She frowned, thinking of what she should say. "Bad ghost!"

Ren's lips curved upward, he couldn't stop himself from teasing her right at that moment. "Woof!" He barked, with a sly grin.

"Oh, haha! Very funny!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll have you know I'm not the least bit intimidated. You're not the first ghost I had to deal with."

Yes, that's right. Don't falter. I shall not give in to his mental games.

"Oh! Then you won't mind me rummaging through your underwear drawer." He smirked "You said you lived with your mother, right? I wonder what her reaction will be when she sees a pair of panties casually floating around." He added, laughing at the picture his imagination helpfully supplied. He knew that this was low, but a ghost's gotta do what a ghost's gotta do, right?

"You wouldn't dare!" She snarled, coloring red at the scandalous notion. Not only was he threatening to haunt her house, but he was also going as far as to drag her mother into this! _The cheap son of a-_

"Try me." He challenged, stopping her mental insult midway.

"You piece of shit!" She took the liberty to say this one out loud as she threw herself at him… well, more like threw her fists at his chest, only to have them go right through it.

"What the hell? I was able to touch you yesterday!" She griped, thinking back at the moment she fell on his chest in the cemetery on the previous night and hating the rebellious blush tinting her cheeks.

"Yeah, I figured out that some ghost's have this ability when they die." His excitement at the discovery of this ability didn't seem to be dampened by the murderous look on Kyoko's face. "It looks like you can 'switch' your physical state on and off! See look, on!" He tapped his index finger against her nose, ignoring her indignant expression. "And off!" Laughing when she tried to slap it away and failed.

"Oh, great! I suppose this will allow you to peek at me when I'm peeing too!"A picture of him leaning through the bathroom door as she did her business crept into her mind making her shudder in disgust.

"Hmm… I hadn't thought of that one, but it doesn't sound so bad. Thanks for the inspiration!" He said, ruffling her hair.

"Will you just cut it out already!" She was at her wits' end dealing with this bizarrely persistent entity haunting her. _Ghosts really have no respect for the living these days!_

"I will if you agree to help me! I won't even peek at you in the bathroom, promise!" He held up his right hand, like he was taking an oath to demonstrate his sincerity.

Kyoko paced the floor, biting on her thumbnail. She stopped for a moment,

 _maybe I can cry and make him leave out of pity?_

She resumed her frantic walking as she shook her head dismissing that thought.

 _If he's gone as far as to threaten me I'd doubt he'd have the scruples to let me be at the sight of a few tears._

She stopped and racked her mind for any other idea that would get her out of this situation but none came.

She looked at him and let out a huge, exhausted sigh. She closed her eyes and ran a hand through her long black hair, messing up her bangs in the process.

"This is blackmail, you know?" She said in an even tone now that she was more calm after she'd weighed her options and had come to the conclusion that short of an exorcism -which were expensive and unnecessarily messy- nothing was going to rid her of this guy. Well, tired was going to end up a constant state of being for her.

"I realize that." He answered, unwavering.

"I don't know if there's like a jail or …" She stopped for a moment. She couldn't say hell, since he'd have to cross over in order to go there and he obviously had yet to do that since he was still in the world of the living, interacting with a living human being.

"…an exile for bad ghosts, but you probably will have to pay for it somehow. This is a very immoral thing to do!" She cautioned him, resuming her attempt to talk some sense into him and hoping she might appeal to a sense of morality within him.

"I can live with that. Well I can't actually live with it since I'm dead, but you get the point." He chuckled while Kyoko crinkled her nose at the tasteless pun. He was really enjoying this, wasn't he?

She sighed again, regretting her decision in advance. It took her some time before she spoke again and finally said, defeated.

"Fine. What is it that you need from me?"

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 **A/N: Well? what do you think? How will Kyoko deal with this naughty Ren? and what do you guys think he wants from her?**


	3. Chapter 2

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

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Hey guys! I'm sorry for the late update, my precious Beta reader and editor was sick for a while L but now she's all better and sent me this chapter, so thank you **Theriechenbachevent** for your hard work, and thank you guys for being patient!

14 reviews, 8 favs and 24 follows, not bad for a first chapter huh? Thank you guys so much

 **PS:** I did something really stupid when I was about to update this chapter, I actually posted chapter 3 then deleted it after I realized that x) I'm a mess of a writer!

* * *

 **Previously…**

She looked at him and let out a huge, exhausted sigh. She closed her eyes and ran a hand through her long black hair, messing up her bangs in the process.

"This is blackmail, you know?" She said in an even tone now that she was more calm after she'd weighed her options and had come to the conclusion that short of an exorcism, (which were expensive and unnecessarily messy), nothing was going to rid her of this guy. Well, tired was going to end up a constant state of being for her.

"I realize that." He answered, unwavering.

"I don't know if there's like a jail or …" She stopped for a moment. She couldn't say hell, since he'd have to cross over in order to go there and he obviously had yet to do that since he was still in the world of the living, interacting with a living human being.

"…an exile for bad ghosts, but you probably will have to pay for it somehow. This is a very immoral thing to do!" She cautioned him, resuming her attempt to talk some sense into him and hoping she might appeal to a sense of morality within him.

"I can live with that. Well I can't actually _live_ with it since I'm dead, but you get the point." He chuckled while Kyoko crinkled her nose at the tasteless pun. He was really enjoying this, wasn't he?

She sighed again, regretting her decision in advance. It took her some time before she spoke again and finally said, defeated.

"Fine. What is it that you need from me?"

* * *

 **Ch 2: Fine, I'll help.**

He beamed, happy to finally get what he wanted and cleared his throat as he gestured for her to sit down. Kyoko had no choice but to oblige and look at him expectantly, waiting for him to say what she was supposed to help him with.

"I need your help to cross over." He said while still casually leaning back on the chair and saying it like he was asking her to help him with doing his homework or something, so you'd understand why she had initiallythought she misheard him.

She blinked at him a few times, silent. _Did he just say…?_ "I'm sorry, what?"

He sighed and sat straighter. "I need your help to leave the world of the living and go to the world of the dead." He said very slowly, as if explaining something very simple to a rather _slow_ inferior being.

"I see." She said, looking at her lap deciding to ignore his sarcastic way of speech even though she wanted to yell 'I know what crossover means you jerk!' but this wasn't the best time to start an argument with a ghost, one that was threatening her on top of that. "Well, it turns out I can't help you, Ren-san! I'm neither a priestess nor a …whatever it is that's supposed to exorcise you out of this world." She said, with a bland smile. That would be her approach with him, she thought, Kyoko would just mirror his behavior. He wasn't the only one who knew how to be sarcastic.

"I realize that, genius!" He rolled his eyesat her. "I need you to help me find out what I need to do to cross over, You know how people always say ghosts get stuck in this world because they have unfinished business? Well I need you to help me find what that is and get it over with!" He explained with a bitter expression.

 _W_ _ell, shit!_ She inwardly cursed her luck, for a moment there she had thought she got rid of him. How was she supposed to know that anyway? She could see ghosts, yeah, but it wasn't as if she had a say in it and he was the only one she interacted with … aside from the usual screaming and running away.

"Oh." She schooled her face to a curious expression. She couldn't let him know that she was plotting how to get rid of him at the risk of having him haunting her place for good as revenge.

"You see, I need to find out why I didn't end up in heaven as soon as I died."

 _Or in hell_. Kyoko thought snidely, not regretting the quip in the least.

"Right... How did that happen again? You, dying, that is." She asked, stalling for the moment while she plotted some way where she could win. As soon as she came up with a plan that is.

"All I remember is thatI was crossing the street and the next thing I know, there's a copy of me lying on the ground with blood all over. At first I didn't realize I was out of my own body, but when I tried to touch things and ended up going through them, I put two and two together." He said, looking pensively at the opposite wall. "Now that I think about it, it took me a little while to learn how to 'switch my physical state' on and off…"

"So, you got hit by a car…maybe if it happens again, you'll get through!" Kyoko suggested, not bothering to put much thought into it.

"Kyoko-chan, I don't have amnesia, I'm dead." He deadpanned and then said in a manner that insulted her intellect. "Simply recreating the accident, won't help me figure out why I'm still here!"

She groaned, the sound letting him know how frustrated she was. "Well, I'm _trying_ to be helpful. That's what you blackmailed me for, isn't it?"

"I think ' _persuaded_ ' is a more appropriate word." He smiled.

She raised an eyebrow at him, which was very effective in that it made him stop smiling very quickly as he uncomfortably squirmed in his seat. "How long has it been since you died anyway?"

"A week."

"Oh." Kyoko's expression softened, she was expecting him to say a year, at least. She was sympathizing with him before she even realized it. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"I think that's what you're supposed to say to my loved ones, not me." He smirked, making her regret feeling even one iota of sympathy for the jerk. _Scratch that, let's just figure out how to send Satan here back to the underworld!_

"Well, I'm sorry you had to die at such a young age!" She said with a huff, annoyed with the prickly ghost. He went on the spout some nonsense about her sincerity reaching him through her efforts to help him, which she only listened to absentmindedly until her eyes fell on her bedside table clock.

"OH MY GOD!" Kyoko suddenly yelled, making him jump in place.

"What? What happened?" He asked, looking around for the source of her horror. _Did any yokai_ _g_ _et in the house? Should I be prepared for battle? Or is she seeing something even ghosts can't see?'_

"I'M LATE FOR WORK!" She yelled running to the bathroom as he followed. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU BETTER STAY HERE WHILE I'M GONE!"

"It's Sunday! And how exactly is this my fau-" She smacked her bedroom door in his face, which was his cue to get somewhere else. The last thing he would want right now is to make her angrier by arguing with her while she changed for work…who worked on weekends anyway?

He shrugged and sat back down on the armchair. ' _Whatever_! '

She had agreed to help him, and for now, that's all that mattered .

* * *

Kyoko smiled broadly at an old lady "Here's your cold syrup, make sure to take two tablespoons three times a day." She instructed. "And here's your change." She said as she handed her a plastic bag. "Thank you for your purchase, I hope you get better!"

She waved at her before turning her attention to the computer to log the purchase in. she heard the bell chime but since she was still typing she greeted the new client without looking. "Welcome! How may I help-ARGH!" looking up, she was greeted by a very familiar face. "What are you doing here, I thought I asked you to stay home!" she whispered, even though it was just the two of them there. The drugstore wasn't as packed on weekends.

"Nice to see you too!" He grinned. "I was kinda bored staying there alone." He looked around, examining the store. "Nice place!"

Before she left for work, Kyoko had quickly explained to him that she worked full time on weekends since there was no school. Drug stores were open 7 days a week and it was good practice since she was a pharmacy student, that and she needed the extra money.

"Oh yeah, sure, thanks, I'm sure my boss would appreciate it! Now please go back home."

He ignored her and wandered around, "You look nice in a white coat, by the way!" he said, casually looking at the small medicine boxes on the shelves. Kyoko blushed a little _Playboy._ She thought. "Liquid bandage." He read on one of the boxes. "What the hell? Why would someone put a liquid on a cut? It completely defies the purpose of putting on a band aid! Aren't you supposed to keep a wound dry?" He asked.

"It hardens after you apply-Would you put that down?!" She snapped at him when he picked the box up to examine it closely.

"Chill, I wasn't gonna open it." He put it back and turned his attention to a different shelve. "Oh, Strawberry flavored toothpaste! They're still making this?" He enthusiastically said as he walked backwards to explore the rest of the store… until he tripped on a potty that was exhibited there, landing on a wheelchair.

Kyoko closed her eyes at the noise and prayed that nothing was broken. She really couldn't afford to replace anything at the moment. Then, in a surprisingly calm voice, and through tightly clenched teeth she said "Ren-san, please go home."

He looked down at the upside down potty and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah…I think I'll do that! I'm done here anyway."

* * *

"I'm home!" Kyoko yelled, after taking off her shoes. She made a bee line to the sofa and crashed face down on it. 'I'm exhausted!' Besides dealing with the costumers, she had also had to edit the security footage from the store's camera making sure to delete the moments where she seemed to be speaking to the void or when objects seemed to move by themselves. Her boss wasn't going to like seeing that potty do a back flip!

"Welcome home, Kyoko!" Her mother yelled through the kitchen. Kyoko smiled at her mom's soothing voice.

"Welcome home, Kyoko-chan." Another, not so pleasant, voice said.

"Ugh, I forgot about you!" she groaned, in a muffled voice.

"What was that, sweetheart?" Her mother asked peaking through the kitchen door at her slumped figure.

"Nothing! I was just saying it's nice to finally be home!"

"Uh-huh…" Her mother frowned before brushing it off as one of her daughter's many peculiarities.

"You! Up!" She mouthed, glaring at Ren before she herself climbed the stairs up to her room.

Once they were both in the safety of her bedroom, she sat on her bed and crossed her arms. "Alright. If you're gonna stay here, we'll need a few rules!" she said. "Rule number one, don't switch on your physical state when there're other people around. Rule number two, don't touch things."

"When there're other people around?" He inquired.

"No. Don't touch things. Period. Especially not in my work place." He pouted and looked down even though he wasn't sincerely hurt. It was more than he bargained for when Kyoko had absently told him to stay at her house, he had thought he'd just float around the cemetery and meet her every now and then while she helped him, but she had supposed he had to stay with her if she was going to help him. "Rule number three, don't make me talk to you when we're not alone! People already think I'm crazy, and having them think I'm talking to myself will only make it worse."

He nodded, still looking at the floor.

"Are these rules clear enough for you?"

He nodded again.

"Good. Now, sit here and wait while I take a shower and change into something more comfortable. I think I know how to help you with your … situation."

* * *

 **A/N: Did I just end the chapter with a cliffhanger? …I did, I did end the chapter with a cliffhanger! *Sweats nervously* Umm, so yeah, let me know what you think of this! *Dashes away***

 **Guest:** I'm so happy that you liked that chapter and that you like their interactions, don't worry you're not sick I ship them too XD I hope you'll like this chapter as well, thanks for the sweet review!

 **Kris:** I'm glad you like it so far :D I was a bit scared when I posted the first chapter I was hoping you guys would like and I'm actually very relieved that you do! Thank you so much for reviewing!

 **Lotus Flower:** *blushes* Thank you so much you sweet pile of adorableness! I'm very flattered and super happy that you like how things are going so far! Thank you for the review!

 **Natsu Heel** : Thank you sooo much! I'm so pleased that you like it and that you're looking forward to the rest, it really encourages me to write more! Thank you for the cute review!

 **Thank you to all those who read and added this to their favorite/alert lists you guys are awesome!**


	4. Chapter 3

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

Yo guys! Here's chapter 3, thanks to the sweetest beta reader/editor ever, **Theriechenbachevent**! I hope you'll enjoy this!

* * *

 **Previously …**

Once they were both in the safety of her bedroom, she sat on her bed and crossed her arms. "Alright. If you're gonna stay here, we'll need a few rules!" she said. "Rule number one, don't switch on your physical state when there're other people around. Rule number two, don't touch things."

"When there're other people around?" he inquired.

"No. Don't touch things. Period. Especially not in my work place." he pouted and looked down even though he wasn't sincerely hurt. It was more than he bargained for when Kyoko had absently told him to stay at her house, he had thought he'd just float around the cemetery and meet her every now and then while she helped him, but she had supposed he had to stay with her if she was going to help him. "Rule number three, don't make me talk to you when we're not alone! People already think I'm crazy, and having them think I'm talking to myself will only make it worse."

He nodded, still looking at the floor.

"Are these rules clear enough for you?"

He nodded again.

"Good. Now, sit here and wait while I take a shower and change into something more comfortable. I think I know how to help you with your … situation."

* * *

 **Ch 3: Obvious!**

"You do?" he asked, his eyes becoming the size of golf balls.

She glared at him as she pulled out clean clothes from her closet. Taking the hint, he sat down and kept his mouth shut, patiently waiting for her to take her shower.

15 minutes later, she was out of the bathroom, dressed in a set ofbaby pink pajamas and drying her hair with a towel.

He looked at her, clearly just barely containing himself and she rolled her eyes in response. "I get it! Let me just blow dry my hair! The weather's shifting and I don't want to catch a cold. It wouldn't do any of us good if I did!"

He sighed and decided to behave. _Patience is a virtue, Ren… hmm, she's actually pretty cute._ He shook his head. _Nope, let's not go there._ _If she hears that she'll accuse me of being a pervert on top of stalking and blackmailing her_. So he turned his attention to the window. The sky was clear and the stars were shimmering, it was a nice evening.

After she finished the meticulous task of blow-drying her long, black hair, Kyoko sat at her desk and turned to look at him "Alright then! Let's figure out a way to send you to the kingdom of the dead!"

"Right!" he abandoned his seat and went to stand next to her. "How are we gonna do that?" He asked as he crossed his arms and paid attention to whatever plan she was supposed to explain to him.

She looked at him for a moment, as if not processing what he said. "I thought this was clear enough." She said, matter of factly. "I'll google it."

It was his turn to direct a confused expression towards her. "Google, as in … the search engine?"

"That's the one!" She snapped her fingers and smiled as she pulled her laptop from a drawer. "Let's get this over with!" She had spent the day thinking about the best way to get rid of him, a few ideas popped in her mind but they were either too unrealistic or too expensive for her, so she thought that the best way to make him leave, would be to help him out. The sooner she figures out his 'unfinished business' the sooner he'll crossover and she can go back to her normal life…well, as normal as it had been before him.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on! You made me wait for twenty minutes, to … google 'how to cross to the other side'?" Ren sputtered.

"Problem?"

Ren bit his tongue to keep himself from saying something that he would regret. He ran a hand through his hair, closed his eyes for a moment then, after a deep sigh he looked at her and said "Let's do it, Let's ask _Google_ for a solution!" in his defense he _did_ try to make it sound the least sarcastic he could.

It was true that he'd been expecting something else, but in all honesty, he didn't have a better idea at the moment. There was no harm in going along with her ideas it wasn't like he had anything better to do. He was in her home, blackmailing her for her help. He couldn't afford to be picky.

'How to help a ghost cross to the other side?' Kyoko typed, hit enter and clicked on the first link that appeared.

"Alright, so our first option is: 'Exorcism'." She looked up at him, silently asking for his opinion.

"Kyoko-chan, I think exorcism is for 'evil' spirits. I don't think I qualify under that category."

"I beg to differ." She muttered under her breath, as she turned in her seat to face her laptop screen, scrolling down.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. You sure about this? Maybe you can go to a shrine, a church, a …temple…um, a mosque, and they can help out?"

"Positive. I was never very …religious anyway. Skip to the next one."

"Suit yourself. Number two is : 'Burn some incense and chant for them to go to the light'."

"Um, incense. Sure. Yeah. Well, I think that will only spread a nasty smell in your room and as for 'the light'," he crinkled his nose. "The only light I see is coming from your computer screen."

 _Dear God, It's a good thing he's already dead, because I really want to kill him right now!_ She tapped the mouse with slightly more force than usual. "Well, the third option is: 'Talk to a medium'."

"I don't think there's a need for that. People usually talk to mediums to help them communicate with the ghost and that's not a problem in our case. You're like your own personal medium!" He clapped a hand on her back and held a thumb up with a smirk, revellingin the full body shudder that went through her.

"Oh, haha!" She frowned at him and decided that it'd be better to just ignore his sassy remarks.

"Number four: 'Call your local…Ghostbusters'…?" Her lips curved up at that one. It didn't take long for that smirk to turn into a full out laugh and Ren's expression made it even better. He looked scandalized. Kyoko composed herself but she had to admit, that option was very tempting.

"Next!" he yelled, not feeling like tolerating this any longer.

She cleared her throat and schooled her face into a more serious expression. "The fifth option is : 'Help the ghost with its unfinished business'." She didn't even let him react to that one before she added "Yeah, no kidding! What do you think I'm trying to do now?" She cursed the writer of this stupid article for all the useless garbage it contained.

"Maybe we should google that. Try typing: 'Ghosts' unfinished business'." He said as he leaned closer to the computer screen over her shoulder.

She was about to retort with a sarcastic remark of her own, but when she noticed he was being serious, she bit her tongue and did as he asked.

"Alright, here it is!" She clicked on the link and started reading from a list. " 'A cherished item that wasn't buried with them'." She turned her gaze to him. "Does that ring a bell? Do you have anything like that?"

"No." He shook his head. "I don't have anything in particular that would keep me trapped here."

"Are you sure? A teddy bear perhaps?" She grinned making his glare intensify. She wasn't planning on getting friendly with him, but teasing him was fun.

"Alright. Uhm, how about this: 'Revenge for their murder'."

"I was accidentally hit by a car… And to be honest I would much rather rest in peace than make my 'murderer' suffer, anyway."

"Fair enough." She said before reading the next theory. "'Secret feelings'. Oh, like a love confession or an apology?"

"I was single and very anti social, so no love confessions. And I'd like to think I was a pretty decent man, so nothing to apologize for!" He proudly announced smugly, grinning harder at Kyoko's scoff.

 _Modesty is non-existent here!_ Kyoko mused.

"'An incomplete bucket list'?" she chuckled. "This one actually sounds like fun!" She turned to face him. "So, Ren-san? Any last wishes you wanna fulfill?"

"A lot actually, but I don't think I wanted to accomplish any of them hard enough to keep me earthbound when I'm dead."

"Oh, too bad." She shrugged. "Let's keep it an option anyway."

"Oh, what's that? 'Protecting a loved one'?" he narrowed his eyes at her computer screen.

"Yeah, sounds familiar?" She asked, praying as hard as she could for him to say yes.

"Not really. My parents live peacefully, and I was an only child so they're my only 'loved ones'."

"Really? No best friends or close colleagues?"

"No…well, maybe Yukihito… but he isn't exactly the type of guy who would put himself in dangerous situations."

"Well, I'm lost. I don't know what else could be keeping you here!" Kyoko sighed, carding her hands through her hair in frustration. "Why don't you keep looking, you can use the computer since you can touch things!"

He was about to say something when Kyoko's phone suddenly rang. She got up and fished it out of her handbag. Her eyes lit up when she read the caller Id and Ren wondered if it were her boyfriend before she cheerfully yelled "Moko-san! My favorite girl in the world! I missed you so much!"

Ren snorted, amused by her behavior. She must really like this Moko person, if her change of mood was anything to go by. Still, it was nice seeing her smile and laugh and be so… carefree.

"Hey, Moko-san? Let's say you died and found out you couldn't cross over. What would you do?" Kyoko asked, spinning in her chair.

"Oh, yeah. Actually-" She paused as if she was suddenly interrupted. "Yes… Uh huh… Oh!" She turned and looked intently at Ren with a glint in her eyes. "Really? …Interesting." She smirked. "Yeah, I think that might work."

* * *

 **A/N: Uh oh! What did Moko-san suggest that made Kyoko smirk so evilly? Will Ren be okay? Will he still be there in the next chapter or will he be able to cross over?**

 **Did any of you expect that Kyoko would 'google' how to help Ren? Lol I'm looking forward to your reviews!**

 **Kris:** Thank you so much for your kind words, We really appreciate it! I'm glad the last chapter was fun for you, I hope this one will be as well! Thank you for being so comprehensive we're currently trying our best to update at least once a week!

 **Guest:** Thank you so much for the praise! I'm so glad you like Ren and that you're pleased with the update :D I hope you'll like this chapter too!

 **Thank you to all those who read and added this to their favorite/alert lists you guys are awesome!**


	5. Chapter 4

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

Hey guys! I'm super excited! There are so many new fics being posted in here every day! I'm delighted this fandom is prospering and I'm so proud! Make sure to read them and review!

Err…and here's your new chapter :p Sorry I'm late?

Thanks a lot to the sweet **Theriechenbachevent** who Beta read and edited this chapter!

* * *

 **Previously…**

He was about to say something when Kyoko's phone suddenly rang. She got up and fished it out of her handbag. Her eyes lit up when she read the caller Id and Ren wondered if it were her boyfriend before she cheerfully yelled "Moko-san! My favorite girl in the world! I missed you so much!"

Ren was amused by her behavior. She must really like this Moko person, if her change of mood was anything to go by. Still, it was nice seeing her smile and laugh and be so… carefree.

* * *

 **Ch4: A little trip...**

"Hey, Moko-san? Let's say you died and found out you couldn't cross over. What would you do?" Kyoko asked, spinning in her chair, legs kicking out to give her more momentum.

"Mo! What kind of question is that?! Do you want me to die?" Her friend Kanae, AKA Moko-san, answered and before Kyoko got the chance to reply she added "Does this have something to do with those ghosts who love you so much?"

"Oh, yeah." Kyoko inwardly let out a relieved sigh, glad that she didn't misunderstand her. Kanae had been her friend since middle school, at a time when Kyoko was just beginning to understand the effect these ghosts were going to have on her life. A series of rather unfortunate events led to her discovering Kyoko's special 'abilities' and though she never really understood Kyoko's special state, she never ran away from it either. This is why Kyoko considered her 'very best friend', if not her only one. Kanae always tried to help when Kyoko had her _specific_ troubles, making sure to always have a book about ghosts lying around. And being the smart student that she was, Kanae tried to make sense of 'spirit logic' to help her friend, sometimes it helped, and sometimes it didn't but Kyoko appreciated it anyway.

Kyoko and Kanae had a shared dream, having their own clinic along with a research center. Since Kanae was a medical student and Kyoko majored in pharmacy, they figured it would be a great way to always be together and build a career. Of course, they were both realistic so they knew that it was farfetched, but dreaming didn't cost them anything, right?

"Actually-" Kyoko was about to explain the situation when Kanae interrupted her. "Let me guess. You somehow managed to get yourself tangled with one of them and now you have to help them cross over?"

"Yes." Kyoko smiled fondly, Kanae was always able to predict whatever was bothering her. But then again, after that question she asked her earlier, it wouldn't take a genius to piece things together.

"If they can't cross over then that means that they didn't find that 'light' portal or whatever right?" Kanae's voice brought her out of her musings. She was using her contemplative voice. Whenever Kanae wanted to make a point, she would changed her tone and start building her case using logic and reason and common sense. It was kind of impressive in Kyoko's opinion, but then again she was biased, so…

" Uh huh."

"But just because they didn't find it, it doesn't mean that it's not out there."

"Oh!" A ray of hope suddenly shined in Kyoko's mind. She turned and looked intently at Ren with a glint in her eyes.

"So, perhaps there is such a thing as a light portal, but you just didn't think about looking for it and just expected it to be there, following your ghost around." Kanae further explained.

"Really? Interesting." Kyoko spun in her chair again, looking at the irritating and unwelcome house guest before her. Leave it to Kanae to think about the philosophical side of things AND come up with a reasonable theory.

"What I'm saying is, from all the books I read about ghosts since I've met you, some 'spirits' have places that emotionally bind them. Your light portal might be somewhere like that." Kanae paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. "So what do you say? Wanna give it a try?"

Ren who was watching Kyoko and listening to the conversation -well Kyoko's side of the conversation, that is- felt a bit scared. What were they planning? And what was with the way Kyoko was looking at him? A chill ran up his spine as his mind started supplying some unpleasant theories.

"Yeah, I think that might work." Kyoko said, in a voice that sounded more creepy than cheerful.

'Oh, no.' thought Ren. Were they really going to try to exorcise him?

* * *

Kyoko, Kanae and Ren walked under the afternoon sun.

After last night's conversation, Kyoko had explained to Ren what Kanae came up with. He was relieved to know they weren't plotting something to get rid of him, but he was a bit reluctant about their actual plan. He honestly had his doubts about it working, but he went along with it anyway. So when Kyoko asked him about a place that had a special meaning to him, he hesitantly told her about the park he spent his childhood in. It was the only place that came to his mind.

"So…is he here now?" Kyoko's friend asked.

Kanae, Ren noted, was a young woman with beautiful long hair, slightly less dark than Kyoko's. She wasn't as enthusiastic as Kyoko when they interacted, but she clearly cared about her friend deeply.

Ren had arrived at the conclusion that the woman was a tsundere. Aside from that, Kyoko had told him about how smart her 'Moko-san' was, how she loved reading more than anything and how strong her personality was. "Moko-san can run for prime minister, and easily win the elections. If she did, she'd be the best thing that ever happens to this country!" Kyoko had said. Her words amused him to no end as he thought about how Kyoko sounded more like a doting parent than a friend, believing their child was the most special thing in the world, regardless of whether it was true or not.

"Yeah, he's here. It's not like he can disappear or anything." Kyoko said.

"No, I just thought that maybe he went there ahead of us." Kanae shrugged and Ren smiled absently.

"So…is he cute?" Kanae asked, all of a sudden.

"Yes." Ren said.

"Meh…" Kyoko shrugged, making Ren and Kanae look at her.

"What do you mean, 'meh'?"

"Oh… that's too bad!"

Kanae and Ren both talked, at the same time, the former pitying and the latter indignant.

Kyoko turned her attention to the spirit. "What?"

"What does 'Meh' mean? I'm cute, I'm very cute even!" He said, looking more affronted than she'd seen him yet. "Tell her I'm cute!" Ren demanded.

Kyoko raised an eyebrow, aware of Kanae's interested glances at her, hearing only one side of the argument. "Don't you think that's up to me to decide? How can you judge your own 'cuteness'?"

"It doesn't matter. Anyone with common sense can tell how cute I am!" He insisted. "Now, tell her that I'm cute." He urged her, gesturing to her –now, very confused and yet intrigued- friend.

Kyoko snorted at how childish he sounded, linking his physical appearance to 'common sense' . She shook her head in defeat and sighed, turning to Kanae. "He wants you to know that he is in fact, very cute." She said in a monotone voice.

Kanae's eyes widened by a fraction. "Ooo-kayy…that's a little creepy." She said.

"Yeah, he does that a lot." Kyoko said, grimacing. "Act creepy, that is."

"I do not!" He denied as he went to Kanae's side. "Lady, don't listen to her. She's just bitter."

"Will you knock it off." Kyoko rolled her eyes. "Don't bother her, she can't hear you anyway."

"What? I'm just defending myself."

"No, you're acting like an impossible child!"

"Oh, am I?"

"Hey, you two?" Kanae said, making them both turn to her. "I'm still here, you know?"

Ren turned his face and looked away while Kyoko apologized to her friend. It didn't take much more time before they arrived to their destination.

"Wow! This place isn't that bad at all!" Kanae smiled.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll turn into a living hell at night." Kyoko shuddered. Parks and graveyards were pretty similar when it came to ghost activity. Once the sun set, they become crowded with creepy spirits. It made Kyoko wonder if there were people buried in parks sometimes. As morbid as it sounded, it _would_ make a lot more sense that way.

"Oh, snap out of it, Kyoko! We might as well enjoy it while we're here!" Kanae smacked Kyoko on the back, making her stumble a few steps forward.

"You're right Moko-san! We're here to get rid of- um, I mean to… send Ren over, after all!" She beamed at him and he returned it with a petulant glare, still sulking from their little quarrel from earlier.

"Okay so where did he use to hang out as a kid?" Kanae asked.

Kyoko turned to ask him, but he was already walking away. So she gestured to Kanae to follow her, and trailed after Ren to what appeared to be a hidden part of the park.

Kyoko and Kanae had to admit, they were surprised by how nice this part of the park looked. It was kind of a little garden hidden behind the trees that surrounded the park. There was a little pond there that perfectly reflected the sun and the grass was decorated with colorful wild flowers. It was obvious that this part of the park had been neglected; though Kyoko supposed that was what made it so enchanting.

"I used to come and play here with my dog." Ren smiled and reached down for a few flat stones. Kyoko watched as he skipped them one by one on the water while Kanae just stared at the stones that seemed to 'jump' on the water by themselves. Even though she didn't say anything, her expression was pretty comical. She was quite aware that Ren was the one doing it, but it didn't make it any less…supernatural.

"Where's your dog now?" Kyoko asked.

"Oh, he died eight years ago." He smiled. "He lived more than your average dog, actually."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. He had a good life. He was a very happy dog!" Ren smiled fondly at his memories with his pet.

"Ha-ehem!" Kanae cleared her throat., earning Ren and Kyoko's attention. "So, does he see anything?"

"Oh!" Kyoko started in surprise, as if she had forgotten their initial goal. She whirled towards him and asked "Do you?"

"Not really, at least nothing out of the ordinary." The young looking ghost said, looking around. "No light." He sheepishly shook his head.

"Oh, well it was worth a try." She smiled sympathetically. "On the bright side, Moko-san and I got to discover this place!" she said smiling broadly at her friend.

"I think we found a new place to hang out at daytime right, Moko-san?" She said before snapping her head back towards Ren. "Oh, is it okay if we hang out here? This is your special corner after all."

"Oh, sure! I'm dead anyway, it's better than leaving this place deserted, I suppose." He smiled.

"Hey, Kyoko." Her friend called.

"Yes?"

"Tell your ghost that, um… I'm sorry his..uh… 'light' isn't here." Kanae awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.

"He can hear you." She turned to Ren who smiled and nodded gratefully. "He says thanks."

"Yeah, whatever… we should go back before the sun sets."

Kyoko chuckled at her friend's behavior, knowing she was worried about the ghost activity that would follow once twilight hit, and started walking with her before she turned back to Ren.

"Are you coming?"

"Yeah, just a moment." He said as he picked up a stone and skipped it on the water one last time.

* * *

It was already night time by the time the girls got back home. Kanae was sleeping over, so they rented a movie and grabbed a few snacks. After dinner, they washed the dishes and packed Kyoko's mom's share in the fridge. Kyoko's mother, Saena, was a nurse and she mostly worked the night shifts, that was the case that day so it was just the two of them…well, and Ren too.

Once the girls were settled in Kyoko's bed and warmly tucked under her sheets, snacks and all, they turned on the TV and played the movie.

"If you'd like there's an extra comforter in the cupboard." Kyoko said, talking to the figure standing by her window.

"Hmm?" Ren absently looked at her. "Oh, I don't feel cold, or any kind of temperature change actually"

"Oh…Um, then would you like a candy bar?"

"No. I don't feel hunger either. Apparently, us ghosts are too sophisticated to do trivial things such as eating." He joked, flashing her a cheeky grin.

Kyoko sniggered and pulled her tongue at him. "Well, that just means there'll more candy for us 'unsophisticated' humans."

Kanae smiled, probably guessing what he said to get such a response from her friend. She also it interesting that Kyoko wasn't as …disturbed around this particular ghost as she usually was.

"You sure you don't wanna watch with us? It's a really good movie!" She offered one last time.

"A romance?" Ren sneered at the title as they slid past on the TV. "No thanks, I'm good.

Two hours later, the credits rolled down the screen. Kyoko and Kanae were in tears, well… Kyoko was, Kanae just insisted there was something in her eye…both her eyes, actually! And a certain ghost sat on the pink armchair located in the corner of the room, looking devastated. "I can't believe she died." He said, his comment ensuing a chuckle from the two girls.

* * *

The day after that, Kyoko woke up to find that Kanae had left a note saying that she made breakfast and went to school. Kyoko didn't have any courses and she only had to work part time that day, so she slept in. She was surprised to find her ghostly friend missing, so she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom before she went downstairs to look for him.

"Hey, Ren-san?" She called, her mother wasn't coming home for another couple of hours so she didn't bother to be secretive.

No answer.

"Reeeen-saaan?" She tried again when she entered the kitchen, smiling at the sight of buttered toast, fruit salad and fresh coffee, courtesy of Kanae.

She picked up a piece of toast and went to check the living room. "Heyyy ghosty, ghosty, ghosty!" she called again, chuckling at herself. It was ridiculous how a simple evening with Kanae had been able to lift her mood so much.

When he didn't answer, she went silent for a moment. She turned left, then right.

She listened carefully.

Nothing. There was no sound in the house.

Slowly, her lips curved up into a smile. _Maybe he's FINALLY gone?_

* * *

 **A/N : Hmmm?! Is Ren gone? What happened? Did he find his 'light' after all? Will Kyoko finally be left alone? Tell me what you thought of this chapter and express your feelings in the reviews XD**

 **Guest:** Aaaaawww! I'm so flattered *^* I'm glad you liked it and that you think it's well written I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

 **Kris:** I'm so pleased you liked it and I'm really happy that it cheered you up, it's the best thing a reader can say! Thanks a billion for reading and reviewing!


	6. Chapter 5

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

Hello! how is everyone doing? I got you a little something! a new chapter! okay I'll stop messing around XD

Thank you so much to **Theriechenbachevent** AKA the world's sweetest beta for editing this and helping me out to improve my writing through her tips!

* * *

 **Priviously ...**

 _The day after that, Kyoko woke up to find that Kanae had left a note saying that she made breakfast and went to school. Kyoko didn't have any courses and she only had to work part time that day, so she slept in. She was surprised to find her ghostly friend missing, so she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom before she went downstairs to look for him._

 _"Hey, Ren-san?!" she called, her mother wasn't coming home for another couple of hours so she didn't bother to be secretive._

 _No answer._

 _"Reeeen-saaan?" she tried again when she entered the kitchen smiling at the sight of buttered toast, fruit salad and fresh coffee._

 _She picked up a piece of toast and went to check the living room. "Heyyy ghosty, ghosty, ghosty!" she called again, chuckling at herself. It was ridiculous how a simple evening with Kanae was able to lift her mood so much._

 _When he didn't answer, she went silent for a moment. She turned left, then right, pivoting on one foot in each direction._

 _She listened carefully._

 _Nothing. There was not a sound out of place in the house._

 _Slowly, her lips curved_ _up into a smile. Does this mean that he's gone?_

* * *

 **Ch5: Nope!**

She felt a surge of happiness go through her and a feeling of peace and qui-

"BOOO!"

…

Never mind.

Kyoko jumped up a little from the sudden shout resisting the urge to shriek, then, sighing deeply, she greeted him. "Oh, there you are! I thought you left, god forbid." She turned around and headed to the kitchen to eat the rest of her breakfast.

"What?" He smiled widely walking beside her, the expression blithe. "I'll never leave you, Kyoko-chan." He teased, making her groan.

"What a relief…" She muttered irately under her breath, wondering when the heavens were going to rid of this persistent ghost.

* * *

The next couple of days were rather uneventful. Kyoko spent most of it in an effort to study in the day and work part time in the afternoon, so they didn't have a lot of time to do any further outdoor experiencing. And Ren, for his part, just hung around the house, occasionally reading one of her books, surfing the net on her laptop or watching T.V.

Kanae had called Kyoko that evening and they chatted a bit. She told Kyoko how things were going at school since they were in different departments and didn't get to spend much time at college together, she ranted about a couple of guys that were bothering her and complained about the professionalism of her teachers. Kyoko smiled and said some encouraging words. When Kanae asked about 'Kyoko's ghost', they talked a bit about Ren, not that there was much to say since there weren't any progress since the last time they had met. They did, however, exchange a promise for another sleepover before saying goodnight and hanging up.

Kyoko spent the rest of the evening idly lying on her bed. Ren was silently reading a book he picked from her collection. They didn't say anything for a while and just let each other be.

After some time, Kyoko broke the silence. "You know, we never tried the bucket list thing." She said as she closed a magazine she had been reading, sliding it away from herself.

"I told you. There's nothing I wanted badly enough for it to keep me earthbound." Ren said, closing his book and meeting her eyes, shrugging. "At least not that I can remember."

"Yeah, but it's not like we have any other options." She got up and went to her desk. "Come on! There's really nothing you wanted to achieve? No matter how crazy it felt?" She pulled out a pen and a notebook from the top drawer. "Anything at all?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

There was a moment of silence while Ren thought about her inquiry. He looked hard at the opposite wall, creasing his eyebrows.

"Well…" Ren bit on his lower lip. "There was this one thing…"

"Oh?!" Kyoko smiled and sat straighter, ready to write the first item on Ren's bucket list.

"Don't laugh, okay?"

"I promise." She smiled encouragingly, tapping her pen against the paper.

"I always wanted to try … bungee jumping."

"B-bungee jumping?" Kyoko's jaw dropped. "That thing where they tie your body with ropes and make you throw yourself of a bridge or something?"

"You said not matter how crazy!"

"I-No, I…yeah, I totally get it!...bungee jumping!" She blinked a couple of times. "Bungee jumping? Really?" Her face was twisted into a horrified expression.

"It seems fun!" He smiled, leaning on her desk.

"I-Okay! You know what? I don't really get it, but I won't judge." She scribbled the words in a page of her notebook. "There! Bungee jumping." She looked up at him. "What else?"

"W-what do you mean what else?" He seemed flummoxed by the idea that she expected him to have _more_ things he wanted to do.

"What else have you always wanted to do and never got the chance to?"

"Are you serious?" He half laughed at the question, technically, he would never get 'to do' the rest of his life. "You're gonna write me an ACTUAL bucket list?"

"Why not? If there's a chance it'll get you through to the other side, then what the hell! Right?"

"I-" He laughed and brushed a hand through his hair. "I suppose."

"That's the spirit! No pun intended." She smiled. "So, what's item number two?"

"Vinegar sorbet!" He said that energetically, now that he was feeling worked up.

"Vinegar - you know what? I'm not even surprised." She wrote it down and waited for him to think of the next item.

They both spent the evening thinking about things Ren might like to try. Kyoko would stop him at different points and ask what was the appeal of doing such and such thing, and he would reply with an answer that she often couldn't wrap her head around. It would lead to them bantering a little before moving on to the next item. And that's how 'List of things Ren wants to do before crossing over.' Was born. Granted, that was a long title, but let it never be said that Mogmi Kyoko was not a 'precise' person.

* * *

The next morning Kyoko went to work, it was Friday and she was supposed to be working a full shift but she asked her boss for the afternoon off.

She promised Ren they'd go sample some sorbet in the afternoon when she comes back.

She had googled shops that sold 'exotic' tasting ice-cream and sorbet and found one 5 bus stops away from where she worked, conveniently enough.

She figured this one was the easiest in Ren's weird list, so she thought it best to start with it. The other tasks would require a bit more planning and schedule adaptations.

Meanwhile, Ren was going through Kyoko's racks. Aside from her books, he found a few manga comics, some short stories, what looked like an old journal –he didn't want to touch that, since it looked private- and a photo album. He really wanted to at least check the photo album, but then he thought she might be just as mad if he touched it as she would be if he went through her journal, so he took the wise decision to ask her for permission when she got back. Instead, he turned on the T.V and went through the channels.

"Cooking show, weather forecast, cooking show, cooking show, what's this? Oh, a reality show." He sighed deeply feeling more bored than ever after going through three hundred channels with nothing interesting to watch.

And what was with all the cooking shows, anyway?

'I wish Kyoko didn't return that cheesy romance movie…'

When Kyoko came back, he was slumped on the pink arm chair, facing the television. She found him focused on what seemed to be a … cooking show?

"Um, you could've used the bed, you know?" She said, as she put her bag on her desk. "You never said you liked cooking shows."

"I don't! God! these things are so boring I almost fell asleep! And ghosts don't even sleep!" He huffed. "But the thing is, there's nothing interesting to watch, so I settled for this baking-whatever show and after a while, it got so hypnotizing you know? Like brain washing! I kept watching without even wanting to!"

Kyoko nodded with an amused smile. "Oh, my god! It must be some sort of conspiracy from the aliens to invade our planet!...thought evil cooking shows!"

"You laugh now, but mark my words." Ren said seriously before he dramatically lowered his voice. "These shows will have your head."

Kyoko tried to keep a straight face, she really did, but she failed and burst out laughing. It didn't take long before he joined her. She never wanted to admit it, but the truth is, Ren was a funny guy. It didn't hurt that he was a pretty decent actor too, which always brought a little something extra to his jokes and puns, as cringe worthy as they might be.

"Okay Mr. ghost. Time to go try some vinegar sorbet." She said. "I hope you're ready!"

* * *

 **A/N: Of course he wouldn't be gone XD that was just me being a jerk and giving you a little scare...nothing new there XD Yup, that's the kind of girl I am XD**

 **Guest1:** You sweet little cupcake! There, there he didn't go away, he was just being naughty XD I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm glad you like this fanfic, thanks for reading and reviewing!

 **Japanda** :#You'reSoCute ! I'm so glad you get excited reading this fanfic, I hope this new chapter will excite you as well! While updates get you guys excited, reviews get me jumping through the roof XD so keep em coming! (yes, I'm shamelessly asking for reviews, again that's the kind of girl I am XD ), anyway, Thanks a lot for reading and reviewing!

 **Kris:** Awwwwww! you're so cute! I'm so glad that chapter was good enough to make your day! I love you, you cutiepie I hope this one will have the same effect! thanks for reading and reviewing!

Thank you all for reading this, there's one particular chapter that was a blast to write and I can't wait for you guys to read it! it'll take a couple of chapters or three at most before I publish it XD I hope you guys will have as much fun reading it as I did writing it!


	7. Chapter 6

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

Heyyy guys...yeah, I know, long time no see... Sorry about that!

Anyway, here's a new chapter! Hope you'll like it!

Thanks a ton to the best Beta ever **Theriechenbachevent**! For working on this even with all she was going through, I love you!

* * *

 ** _Previously ..._**

 _When Kyoko came back, Ren was slumped on the pink arm chair, facing the television. She found him focused on what seemed to be a … cooking show?_

 _"Um, you could've used the bed, you know?" she said, putting her bag on her desk. "You never said you liked cooking shows."_

 _"I don't! God! These things are so boring I almost fell asleep! And ghosts don't even sleep!" He huffed. "But the thing is, there's nothing interesting to watch, so I settled for this baking-whatever show and after a while, it got so hypnotizing you know? It's like brain-washing! I kept watching without even wanting to!"_

 _Kyoko nodded with an amused smile. "Oh, wow! It must be some sort of conspiracy from the aliens to invade our planet!...thought evil cooking shows!"_

 _"Now, you laugh but mark my words." He said before he dramatically lowered his voice. "These shows will have your head."_

 _Kyoko tried to keep a straight face, really she did, but failed miserably and burst out laughing. It didn't take long before he joined her. She never wanted to admit it, but the truth is, Ren was a funny guy. It also didn't hurt that he was a pretty decent actor too._

 _"Okay Mr. Ghost. Time to go try some vinegar sorbet." She said. "I hope you're ready!"_

* * *

 **Ch 6: Good times, good times!**

"Um…you do realize that you'll be the one eating it, right?" He said.

"What? Why on earth would I do that?"

"Ghosts can't eat remember?"

"Well then, _why_ did you let me write it down in your bucket list?!"

"Because I still wanna know how it tastes! You'll be doing the tasting and you'll describe it to me."

"Wh…but…It's vinegar flavored!" Kyoko sputtered in the face of Ren's glee.

"Yeah…it's kinda obvious from its name." He grinned.

"Well… I'm not doing it!" She crossed her arms, stubbornly set in her decision.

"Okay, it was your idea to start with, I don't mind." He shrugged and fell back on the armchair.

Kyoko's shoulder slumped. It was true that it had been her idea, and she did actually think that it might work. Of course, it was a desperate measure but still! Backing out now might cost her the chance to send him away. So with one last groan, she picked up her bag.

"Ugh, come on. let's go before I change my mind. I'm only eating ONE spoon, though."

* * *

"Blech! I wanna set my tongue on fire!"

"Come on, it couldn't have been that bad." Ren laughed at the sight of her, wiping her tongue with paper tissues.

"Not that bad? Maybe you didn't hear me the first time I described it. It tasted like a frozen mixture of spoiled milk and grape juice!" Kyoko visibly shivered. "It was definitely the worst thing I've ever had! It felt like my tongue was being repeatedly pricked with needles."

"Well, now we can scratch it out of the bucket list! After your 'degustation' and very detailed description, I can say I have no regrets concerning Vinegar Sorbet!" He laughed, walking next to her.

Kyoko stared at him for a moment before she started laughing as well, shaking her head. "Well, I'm glad."

Kyoko was not exaggerating when she said the vinegar sorbet was the worst thing she ever had. When she first stepped into the… 'exotic' store, she had felt like Alice in Wonderland. There were all sorts of strangely colored mixtures in big containers. She skimmed the display fridge. 'Olive and orange jam gelato', 'Pickled eggs ice cream', 'custard and onion dip gelato', 'Snake blood sorbet'

The mounting horror inside was giving way to truly terrifying questions.

What on earth was this place?!

It was truly a unique experience. She was grateful Ren only made her taste the Vinegar sorbet, as compared to the other crazy flavors, it was nothing.

* * *

It was pretty late when they started towards home. Kyoko cringed at the fact that she'll have to walk through that graveyard at night again. No matter how many times she walked that path, she never got used to it.

Ren must've noticed her growing discomfort because he soon asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing, nothing." She shook her head. "I'm just not really into walking through this place at night..." She looked away, mumbling something like 'I told you the first time we met'

"What? Because of these guys?" He gestured to one of the spirits lurking behind a tombstone.

"No, because of the moon." Kyoko deadpanned. "Yes, because of these guys! Why else would I be uncomfortable?"

Ren chuckled. 'Irritated' Kyoko was a very entertaining Kyoko.

"You never told me what's so scary about them?"

"What's so scary is that, at one point, one of them will think it funny throwing itself at me." She said. "They enjoy giving me heart att-ARRRRRGHHHHHHHH! OH MY GOD!" The ghost of a puppy jumped at her, making her kick and scream trying to get rid of it.

Ren calmly removed it from her knee and put it down. "Bad dog!" He scolded, making the spirit lower its head and dejectedly walk away.

Kyoko didn't seem like the cowardly type to him, but whenever they walked through the cemetery she would freak out and act all fidgety. It was a comical sight, albeit a bit unusual and out of character for her.

"You know, they just do it to mess with you." Ren said "In that puppy's case, he probably just wanted to play." He smiled gently, doing his best to hide his amusement.

She didn't say anything, and listened to him.

"If you just act calm, and ignore them they would probably leave you be, _I_ told you this the first time we met." He said, mirroring her previous words. "They probably enjoy doing it because of the way you react."

"You think?" She genuinely asked while hugging herself.

"From my short time as a ghost, I found out that spirits are just like human beings. Usually the same logic in dealing with humans, applies to them as well."

"I see…" She squared her back, with a determined expression. "Alright then, I'll try that the next time they try to pick on me! Thanks for the advice!"

"No trouble!" Ren replied.

They walked the rest of the distance home in a comfortable silence. Once there, Kyoko was greeted by her mother who seemed to be making dinner. Ren went upstairs while Kyoko helped with the food and set the table. Both mother and daughter chatted a bit while eating and after finishing up and cleaning the kitchen she went upstairs.

Ren was standing by her desk, staring absently at a shelve. She wondered what he was thinking before he turned around to answer that thought.

"Can I look at this?" He pointed to the photo album he saw earlier in the day.

Kyoko's eyes widened and she rushed to his side and pulled the photo album out, only to hide it behind her back. "You can't!" she yelled, her cheeks coloring in mortification.

"Why not?"

"Because!"

"Because…?"

"Because every single embarrassing moment in my life has been recorded in here!" She blushed a bit as the images inside flashed through her mind. "So, you can't look at it!"

"Oh, come on!" He pleaded with his eyes. "You have a list of everything I've ever wanted to do, I think it would only be fair that I have a peek."

Kyoko groaned. " _That_ is not the same thing."

"What? Because eating vinegar sorbet and yelling 'I'm the king of the world' from the rooftop of my old high school isn't embarrassing enough to compete with your album?" He grinned. Her reaction made him want to look even more, what could she possibly have in there?

"Oh, speaking of which? Why didn't you do that already? You don't need me to describe what it feels like to scream at the top of your lungs."

"It won't matter if no one can hear me, and don't try to change the subject!" He walked closer to her. "Come on, let me see!"

"No!"

"Please?"

"No!"

"What are you so afraid of? I'm dead, so it's not like I'm gonna go tell anyone anyway!"

Kyoko thought about it for a moment. He had a point, if she showed him, the only one who would be able to make fun of her would be him. Technically, he was already doing a fine job at that without the help of her photo album.

"Come on, Kyoko-chan!"

She cast one last calculating look at him. "Fine." And she gave in.

"Sweet!" He sat on her bed and patted the space next to him as an invitation for her to join him. "Show me!"

"You won't laugh, will you?"

"I…I would like to say I won't, but if it's really funny I'm afraid I don't really have a choice.."

Kyoko glared at him.

"Hey, I'm just trying to be honest!"

She sighed and opened the photo album. The first picture was of a little girl with pigtails, she was looking to her left and smiling.

"That's when I was four, there was the ghost of a chipmunk standing on that branch." She smiled. "When my mother asked me what I was smiling at and I said the little squirrel, she said there was nothing there and when she brought the pictures home from the photo shop, there was no chipmunk and I found out it was a ghost." Kyoko sighed.

"That's cute. You look like you liked seeing it." Ren smiled.

"Yeah, well, it was a nice chipmunk." She chuckled and flipped the page.

"Oh, hoho what is _that_?!" Ren laughed and pointed to the picture.

"Shut up!"

"No, seriously what is it?" He said between chuckles.

"It was supposed to be a drawing of a mermaid."

"Let me guess, a ghost scribbled on it and turned it into a fried cod fish?"

"No! I just… wasn't very 'artistic'..." She mumbled with a pout.

"Oh…Well if you tilt your head to the left and squint your right eye, it totally looks like a mermaid!"

Kyoko giggled. "Yeah, right! You don't have to try to make me feel better, I know it's awful." She turned her attention to the opposite page. "Oh, this is actually a normal picture!" She smiled. "I think it's the only decent one in here."

It was a photo of Kyoko and her mother hugging by the beach. They were barefoot and they wore matching pink summer dresses.

* * *

"You know, seeing you two like this makes me think how much you look like your mother."

"Really?"

"Yeah, except for the nose. Your nose looks nothing like your mom's."

"Yeah, she says I have my dad's nose." Kyoko giggled.

"Oh, is he the one who took this photo?"

"Yeah." She smiled fondly at the thought of her dad. "I was six then, he died a couple of years after that."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ren's smiled fell from his face. He hadn't wanted to upset her.

"It's alright!" She flipped the page and groaned. "Ugh, I was hoping mom had burnt this one."

Ren's body shook as he tried to control himself.

"Let it out, Ren-san."

And he exploded into a fit of giggles. Kyoko pinched the bridge of her nose from embarrassment and waited for his laughter to subside.

"Kyoko-chan, you'll have to explain this one to me because honestly I have no idea what could possibly have happened here."

"I was nine at the time, there was this little boy…well, more like his 'spirit' and he was following me everywhere at school. When we were taking the group picture, he kept telling me to smile. And when I wouldn't, he grabbed my cheeks from behind and pulled them just when the picture was taken." She furrowed her brows at the picture. "I had detention for three days as a punishment for ruining the picture by pulling that 'grimace' as my teacher called it."

"Oh, wow! To think all this could have been avoided if you just smiled."

"I didn't want to smile! I was missing a tooth then!"

This only made Ren chuckle more at her expense.

They kept going through the album laughing and commenting on the awkward poses Kyoko made. She found herself laughing harder than Ren at some pictures, probably more because of the memories that went along with them than at the way she looked in them. By the time they finished looking at them all, Kyoko's ringtone resonated through the room.

She picked up her phone. It was Kanae. "Moko-san!"

"Yo, Kyoko! Umm… we have a bit of a situation."

* * *

 **A/N: Aaand cut! Well, after this, I think we can all agree that I'm the worst and will not stop ending the chapters with cliffies xD**

 **Anyway, tell me what you think! What could Kanae be meaning? What 'situation' could she be talking about? *rubs hands* I'm so excited for you to read the next chapter!**

 **Kris:** Hey there! I'm glad you liked that and I'll try to keep this as funny as possible, and omg I'm so excited for you guys to read that particular chapter! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

 **Guest:** I'm very happy you're enjoying this darling! And yes, yes I'll do my best to give you fast updates! Thanks a lot for the review :D

 **Japanda:** Awww! Now I feel bad for not updating in so long! I really appreciate your review and support and I'm glad you're liking this fic, I always do my best to update fast but sometimes life happens (actually, it's constantly happening not just sometimes XD) and I take more time to update, please be patient and bear with me uwu Thanks for the review!

 **…** **not sure if I have to specify that the 'weird flavors' ie cream shop is from my weird imagination and if there's an actual place like that in Tokyo it's just a happy coincidence? …meh, I probably don't!**


	8. Chapter 7

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

Well, Hello! Erm, yeah... *sweats nervously* I'm really sorry for the late update I've been going through some stuff lately and I couldn't update quickly.

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this, I'll try to replace it with the edited version when I hear back from my beta (btw, please pray for her, she's also been through a hard time and I hope she's okay).

...So, yeah! This is the chapter I was bouncing to post, I'm so excited about it I had a LOT of fun writing it and I sure hope you'll like it! Let me know if there are any mistakes!

* * *

 _ **Previously...**_

 _They kept going through the album laughing and commenting on the awkward poses Kyoko made. She found herself laughing harder than Ren at some pictures, probably more because of the memories that went along with them than at the way she looked in them. By the time they finished looking at them all, Kyoko's ringtone resonated through the room._

 _She picked up her phone. It was Kanae. "Moko-san!"_

 _"Yo, Kyoko! Umm… we have a bit of a situation."_

* * *

 **Ch7: The more the merrier!**

Kyoko frowned. Kanae didn't even ask her how she was, and her voice sounded odd. "You're not canceling our sleepover, are you?"

"No, but it has something to do with that." She said. "I met Chiori earlier and we talked a bit, she asked about you and I told her I was gonna sleepover at your place tomorrow and …well, she kind of invited herself to join us." Kanae breathed after she finished saying that in one go.

Kyoko smiled. "Oh… that'll be a bit awkward, you know…since Ren's here and all."

"Yeah, but I couldn't possibly have told her that, could I?"

"Right. It's fine Moko-san, we'll work it out somehow." Kyoko soothed her friend.

Chiori was one of their mutual friends from high school. She's a nice girl who accepted Kyoko's 'weirdness' but she doesn't know about her special talents. They lost contact when she pursued her studies in Japanese literature in a different University.

"You sure?" Kanae asked, still feeling a bit guilty.

"Yeah, don't worry about!" Kyoko assured her in her ever cheerful voice. "Good night Moko-san, See you tomorrow!"

"Okay. Good night."

Kyoko turned to Ren and told him what was happening. She explained that Chiori wasn't aware that she can see ghosts, which is why they'll have to be a bit careful. "You'll have to tone down the chatting. Don't speak to me unless it's absolutely necessary. You should switch off your physical state as well."

"Yeah, yeah, I get. I'll behave." He waved her away. "Just keep a couple of books for me in the living room."

"Actually, my room isn't big enough for the three of us, so we'll be sleeping in the living room. I'll be setting futon beds there." She clarified. "You'll be staying in my room."

"Alright, then! It's settled." He smiled.

* * *

The next day, When she came back from work, Kyoko prepared dinner for her guests and packed her mother a bento since she would be working the night shift again. She set the futon mattresses in the living room and made sure there were enough comforters for the three of them. It was getting pretty cold after all.

The bell rang indicating the arrival of her friends. She was greeted by a hug from Chiori who made it known how much she missed her. She gave a hug to Kanae herself, since the tsundere wouldn't take the initiative at displaying affection in front of others.

Once they took off their shoes and headed inside, Kyoko noticed that Chiori had brought a large bag and wondered what was inside it. She looked at it and then looked at Kanae who shrugged, a sign that she knew as much as Kyoko did about whatever was inside it.

"What do you have there, Chiori-chan?" she asked, with a curious smile.

"Oh! It's a surprise!" The girl smiled excitedly.

"Umm…okay. Why don't we have dinner, then!"

The girls complied and followed her to the kitchen. They chatted a bit as they ate. You could tell how much they enjoyed their meal from how easy it was to wash the dishes, not a single crumb was left on their plates.

After that, Kyoko ushered them to the living room with warm mugs of tea and a tablet of dark chocolate. At that time, Ren had come downstairs to check things out. He got bored of staying alone in the room, so he figured that if he stayed silent and 'none-physical', Kyoko wouldn't mind him there. He was right apparently, since Kyoko only nodded to him when she saw him standing in the corner, making sure to stay out of the way.

After drinking their tea, eating their chocolate and a bit more catching up, Chiori grabbed her bag and looked at the two girls with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Okay, I think it's time to show you guys the surprise!" She stated cheerfully. That made Kyoko and Kanae sit straight in anticipation while Ren just got closer to see what they were up to.

Chiori pulled out what seemed like a wooden board with alphabet letters and numbers written on it.

"Ta-da!" she sang.

Kanae furrowed her eyebrows. "… A _Ouija_ board? Seriously?"

Ren smirked. Remembering his days messing around with something similar along with his high school buddies.

Kyoko tilted her head in confusion.

And Chiori nodded. "Of course! It's a tradition to play with it in slumber parties! We just HAVE to do it!"

Kanae wanted to faceplam herself. Kyoko hated ghosts, trying to summon one using a Ouija board was not going to make her happy, or excited or anything good.

It took a few moments for Kyoko to understand what the tablet was. She had seen it in a horror movie once. She cringed and shuddered at the thought of people willingly trying to communicate with ghosts.

Chiori's voice brought her out of her dark thoughts "Kyoko-chan, why don't you bring us a few candles and turn the lights off?"

"Umm, Chiori-chan? I was actually hoping we'd spend the evening watching a movie on my laptop or something."

"What?! That's just boring!" Chiori's words made Ren chuckle. He was really enjoyed how things turned out to be. "Come on now Kyoko-chan! You're not gonna tell me you're afraid of ghosts are you?"

"It's not that…it's just that I …"

"Oh… I see, maybe you just think this is silly." Chiroi looked down, and her sad expression made Kyoko want to wrap her arms around her in a hug. How could she say no to that face?

That was all it took to convince her. "Alright, Chiori-chan! Let's play with that … thing!" After all, what's the worst that can happen?

Nothing, apparently. They sat there for fifteen minutes, with the tips of their fingers on the planchette, waiting for it to move.

"This is so boring! Why isn't anything happening!" Chiori yelled.

"Maybe the ghosts are not in the mood to chat." Kanae said, rolling her eyes, it was getting tiring sitting there on their butts and waiting for something to happen.

"Ugh! Stupid spirits! They're just too lazy to join in!" Chiori crossed her arms, leaving Kyoko and Kanae dumbly holding the wooden piece.

" _Oh_!"

Kyoko's face blanched, that didn't came from Kanae or Chiori. She turned to see Ren smirking and walking towards them.

 _'No. god, no. please, don't!'_ She inwardly prayed.

"Why don't we give Chiori-chan a little show!" He purred.

 _'Oh, god!_ ' She glared at him. Silently reminding him of his promise to behave. And praying he would take the hint-

"Come on, Kyoko-chan! You're friend is bored I'm just going to entertain her a bit." -Apparently not.

She closed her eyes, silently praying the evening would go by, with minimum damage. It's not like she can scold him without exposing herself to Chiori.

Kanae seemed to notice her friend's switch of mood. It didn't take her much to deduce that Ren was in the room with them. She smiled slightly at that. 'Well, this will be interesting!'

"Okay, so let's start things with a little bit of drama!" The 'ghost' said, bending down and blowing off the candles.

"Oh!" Kanae exclaimed. If Ren was plotting something, she wanted to be a part of it. Anything would be better then what they were doing before, anyway.

Chiori sat up. "What was that?"

"I'm sure it's just a gust of wind." Kyoko supplied as she smiled nervously.

"Oh, and where exactly did this 'gust of wind' come from?" Kanae questioned, silently apologizing to Kyoko, she'll be on Ren's side in this one.

'Not helping, Moko-san!' Kyoko sent a cold stare at her bestie.

"From here!" Ren roared as he violently threw open the living room window.

"Oh my god!" Chiori beamed, excited at the turn of events. Kyoko stood up and went to close the window. The last thing they needed was to get sick because of Ren's idiocy.

"Seems we got ourselves a ghost!" Kanae smirked.

Kyoko looked at Ren, pleading with her eyes, one last time.

"Don't worry Kyoko-chan. I'll keep it simple." He winked at her as he crouched down and put two fingers on the planchette.

"Let's ask it something!" Chiori put her fingers on it as well. She closed her eyes and said. "Spirit, this is a safe place. Do you hear me?"

This made both Ren and Kanae snort. Kyoko glared at them and then looked at Chiori sympathetically for whatever she was going to be put through, while Ren moved the planchette to the corner of the board that had 'yes' written on it.

"Oh, oh, oh! It can hear us!" Chiori beamed and jumped in her place, feeling the rush of the situation.

"Okay, so what is your name?" she asked, closing her eyes once more. Not that she needed to, after Ren blew off the candles the only light in the room came from the moon that shone upon them from the window.

Ren started moving the planchette toward the letters.

"N." Chiori read the letter that was indicated by the tip of the planchette before it moved again. "8."

She frowned. What did that mean? "N-eight? Neight?" she said out load. "Oh! Nate! Like Nathantiel!" she looked at Kyoko and Kanae. "It's a foreigner's ghost!" Kyoko smiled weakly as Kanae chuckled under her breath. Ren was fully laughing, not bothering to hold back since Kyoko was the only one who could hear him. Chiori spoke again. "Is that correct, spirit? Is 'Nate' your name?"

The planchette moved to the 'yes' corner once more.

Kyoko really wanted to yell at Ren for having Chiori all worked up, but she held back for now.

"So, Nate how did you die?" Kanae spoke to the 'spirit' for the first time.

Ren smirked. He really liked having an accomplice. It was a nice change from the fretting and worrying of Kyoko. At least with Kanae there, he wasn't the only one enjoying this.

He moved the piece to answer her.

"K." Chiori whispered. It appeared she took it upon herself to speak the indicated letters out loud. "I…L…L." Her eyes widened. "Kill? Were you killed?"

Ren moved the planchette to the 'Yes' side. He noticed Chiori stiffen. She was starting to get a bit scared.

"How?" she asked.

'7…S…T…A…B…S'

"Seven stabs…" Chiori whispered incredulously, her eyes the size of saucers. She felt like she was in a horror movie and couldn't help the foreboding feeling that flowed through her body

"Nate, do you know who killed you?" She brought herself to ask.

'Yes'

Chiori worriedly looked at the two girls. Kanae spoke again, asking a question "Will you tell us?"

Ren moved the planchette to the 'No' deciding it was getting boring to always answer with 'yes'.

"Why not?" She asked again.

"D…A…N…G…E…R" Chiori read. "Danger? Does he mean it'll be dangerous if he told us?"

The planchette moved to the 'yes' corner. Kyoko sighed at how grotesque this was getting.

Kanae suppressed a smile as she asked "Nate, is your killer alive?"

'No.' Ren was shaking with laughter. He figured out Kanae's plan when she asked him that and decided to go with it.

"Is your killer in this room?" Kanae inquired, moving according to said plan. Chiori was curled up in fear. She had stopped asking questions and you could see the goose bumps on her skin from a mile away. Talking with a ghost was fun and all, but this was getting serious. They were talking about a freaking murder!

'Yes' Ren quickly got up and slammed the door, making Chiori yelp and Kyoko jump a bit.

"Nate? Is it still you?" Kanae asked, feigning an expression of fear.

'No'

"Oh my god!" Chiori cried. "Is it his killer's spirit?" She looked at Kyoko, completely terrified.

"I'm sure it's just-" Kyoko didn't get the chance to finish her sentence when the planchette moved to the 'Yes' corner. Chiori abruptly stood up, making Kyoko follow while Ren and Kanae chuckled at her reaction.

"Chiori-chan calm down!" Kyoko rubbed Chiori's arm as she made her sit down again.

"Do you promise not to hurt us?" Chiori hesitantly asked after putting her fingers on the wooden device again.

'No.'

* * *

 **A/N: Uh oh! What is Ren thinking? That little troller! please, please, pleaaaase let me know what you thought of this!**

 **Ketria:** Heyyyy! OMG I've missed you lots! And I'm soooo sorry, I've been missing out on your fic! **(Guys, check out Ketria's story, it rocks! she created the most amazing OC and she's making her push our oblivious Kyoko and Run in the right direction! it's called The third Heel, btw)** I promise to flood you with reviews as soon as I have my life organized! (I'm actually quite excited to read the recent chapters XD), Can't say I'm surprised that there's a place that sells weird ice cream on this earth, I'd actually like to go there XD And, erm, I hope the 'Situation' was to your liking XD Thanks a lot for the read AND the review! you're so sweet!

 **Japanda:** Hey sweetie! I'm glad you liked it and that it was worth the wait, I hope you'll like this chapter as well, thnk you so much for taking the time to read and review this, it makes me super happy! and I love you for being excited!

 **Kris:** You know that guy's all about teasing and not just in this AU XD I LOVE YOU for loving my stories you have no idea how ecstatic I get reading your reviews! and thank you, I'll try to come back for good and update more frequently! Thanks a ton for the read and the review, I hope you'll like this chapter!

 **Guest:** Thank youuuu! I'm so glad you like it! I hope this chapter will suit your taste as well :D and All the love to all the adorable people from Sweden reading this! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, I hope you'll enjoy the rest of this fic!


	9. Chapter 8

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

Why, Hello there! Boy, it's been a while! (I can hear you saying 'and whose fault is that -_-?' XD) I know, I'm sorry, but what can I say? I wasn't pleased with the direction I had planned for this story and I only managed to work things up recently. So enough about me and my excuses, I hope you'll enjoy this!

Thanks a lot to my beta reader **Theriechenbachevent** for her hard work!

* * *

 _ **Previously...**_

 _Kanae suppressed a smile as she asked "Nate, is your killer alive?"_

 _'No.' Ren was shaking with laughter. He figured out Kanae's plan when she asked him that and decided to go with it._

 _"Is your killer in this room?" Kanae inquired, moving according to said plan. Chiori was curled up in fear. She had stopped asking questions and you could see the goosebumps on her skin from a mile away. Talking to a ghost was fun and all, but this was getting serious. They were talking about a freaking murder!_

 _'Yes' Ren quickly got up and slammed the door, making Chiori yelp and Kyoko jump a bit._

 _"Nate? Is it still you?" Kanae asked, feigning an expression of fear._

 _'No'_

 _"Oh my god!" Chiori cried. "Is it his killer's spirit?" She looked at Kyoko, completely terrified, who seemed simultaneously amused and slightly concerned at Chiori's fear._

 _"I'm sure it's just-" Kyoko didn't get the chance to finish her sentence when the planchette moved to the 'Yes' corner. Chiori abruptly stood up, making Kyoko follow while Ren and Kanae chuckled at her reaction._

 _"Chiori-chan calm down!" Kyoko rubbed Chiori's arm as she made her sit down again._

 _"Do you promise not to hurt us?" Chiori hesitantly asked after putting her fingers on the wooden device again._

 _'No.'_

* * *

 **Ch 8: Maybe...**

"Oh, god! Kyoko-chan let's just stop!" She said, yanking her hands away like they'd been burned by the board.

Their attention was pulled back to the Ouija board as the planchette moved towards the letters. This time it was Kanae who read the indicated letters. "H…A…H…A."

"Haha? Is it making fun of us?"

"Duh!" Ren snorted, he moved the piece to the 'yes' and grinned at Kyoko. "I think she's had enough." He said.

"Wha- How rude!" Chiori yelled, though she now was visibly more relaxed.

'B.A.K.A'

"Hey!" She was getting very irritated. This actually made Kyoko laugh a bit. Now that Ren was ending his fooling around, she was able to relax.

Kanae was having the time of her life. She felt a bit bad because of making fun of her friend but it was better than the boring evening they were bound to have if not for Ren's interference.

Kyoko suggested ending the game after seeing Chiori sulk for a couple of minutes. The girls agreed and they moved the planchette to the lower part of the board, where 'Goodbye' was written in bold letters.

"Stupid ghost! Who was he calling stupid? I hate this game!" Chiori mumbled as she slid under her comforter while Kyoko, Kanae and Ren chuckled at her change of heart.

The day after that, Kyoko and the girls had breakfast and joked about the previous night. Chiori left first since she wanted to go home before going to college.

Kanae and Kyoko took the bus and went to college together.

"That was mean, Moko-san!" Kyoko lightly scolded her friend, despite grinning herself at the events.

"Oh, she'll get over it!" Kanae huffed. "It's not like we traumatized her or anything and she was the one who insisted on using that bloody board in the first place!" Kanae flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Just look at it as giving her the experience of a lifetime!" She shrugged with a cheeky smile.

"It's a good thing Ren didn't take it too far."Kyoko sighed.

"Oh, so it's just Ren now, huh?" Kanae nudged her friend's side with a teasing grin, who immediately went rigid and protested vehemently.

"I just slipped!" She ended up muttering when Kanae's doubting expression didn't change, her cheeks flaming red.

"Uh-huh…" Kanae's grin became larger. "And I suppose that blush slipped too?"

"I am not blushing!" She knew she was totally blushing, but she denied it all the same.

"Of course not!" Kanae chuckled making Kyoko turn to the window and sulk. She gave her the silent treatment until the bus stopped by their school.

"Oh, well. We part here, tomato-san!" She leaned forward to hug Kyoko who just kept sulking. The campus was divided so that the Pharmacy department and the Medicine department were located at opposite ends. It meant that the two rarely crossed paths unless they themselves arranged it.

"Tell ' _Ren_ ' I said bye!" Kanae shouted as she walked away.

 _'Moko-san is so mean sometimes! So what if I called him Ren just once?'_

* * *

Kyoko sighed as she walked in the drug store. She didn't feel like working, it had been a long day at school and not having enough sleep last night was taking its toll on her body.

Her boss greeted her before he walked out of the store, probably relieved his own shift was over. She put on her white coat and took her place behind the counter. There were a few people in the store, which was understandable. It was the flu and cold season and people were stacking their houses with surgical masks, lozenges, aspirin and cough syrup.

She was approached by a couple of customers who seemed to be together. They put the items they picked on the counter and gave her a prescription for a few drugs.

"I'm not sure about this one? The doctor said it was a bit out of stock?" The guy said.

"That's right, but there is a generic brand that has the same effect. I can get that for you!" She smiled and turned to the rack behind her, grabbing all the items on the prescription off the shelf.

"Alright, so this one has to be taken before breakfast, on an empty stomach." She struck a line on the box and wrote 'before breakfast' under it. "And you have to take two drops on each nostril for these, three times per day." She stroke three couples of lines this time. "As for, this." She held up a small box. "Just take a pill whenever you have a strong headache, but make sure to leave at least four hours in between and don't take more than three pills a day." She finished the instructions and started putting the medicine and other items in plastic bags, making sure she logged each item in the computer while the couple chatted, waiting for her to charge them.

"I have to get Toru's birth certificate from the vital records' office. Will you remind me tomorrow?"

Kyoko couldn't help but over hear the male costumer say, she scolded herself and told herself to focus on her task.

"You still didn't get it?" The lady rolled her eyes. "It's been a month since I've asked you to! He needs it for his driver's license!" That got Kyoko's attention, now that she finished packing the drugs and had the receipt ready.

"I know I just forgot!" The man smiled sheepishly.

Kyoko cleared her throat making them turn to face her. "Here is your purchase, and your receipt."

The man paid the amount indicated on the receipt and grabbed the bag making sure to thank her before he walked out.

"Thank you for your purchase!" She said brightly.

* * *

Kyoko fell on her bed like a dropping tree. She was so exhausted, her limbs were sore, her back ached and she couldn't even keep her eyelids open.

Seeing her state, Ren avoided disturbing her for a few moments. It wasn't until he saw her get up and strip form her coat and scarf that he said "Your garbage can's been acting up."

 _'Garbage can? wha -'_

She frowned at him, confused by his words before she realized what he meant. "Oh, it's that raccoon or whatever, it sneaks in sometimes and makes a mess."

"I didn't see anything." He remarked, not convinced.

"That's because it's very fast and can hide surprisingly well. It took me until the third time he got in to get a glimpse of its tail." She went to her desk and crouched by the place her garbage can was lying. She positioned it properly and started picking up the crumpled papers and putting them back inside.

"Oh!" Ren went to help her with her task. "You look terrible, by the way."

"Thanks, there's nothing better a girl would rather hear." She sighed.

"I'm just saying…" He shrugged. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just really tired. It's been a long day, that I wasn't prepared for after last night's circus." She said. "I still haven't talked to you about that. Shame on you for going along with Kanae-san!"

"Oh, come on! It was fun, and there was no harm done, right? Even Kanae had a good time." He snickered.

"Kanae had a good time, yes, but Chiori-chan was terrified!"

"And then she was pissed." He said. "I managed to turn a terrifying situation into a comical one. You have to give me credit for at least that!" He said, throwing a plastic wrapper in the can.

"Whatever." She sighed. "Just don't do it again."

"I won't, I only did it last night because your friend was hoping to talk to a ghost. I just delivered."

Kyoko glared at him one last time before she got up and pulled something from her backpack.

"Speaking of delivery, I have something for you." She said.

"Oh? For me?"

"You see, there was this couple at the drugstore talking about papers and the vital record office and all and it got me thinking, maybe we could see the hospital that declared you dead and go investigate there. Maybe your 'light' will even be there!" She said as she opened a thick envelope.

"Wait…you got a copy of my ID papers?" He asked. "Isn't that supposed to be private? I thought only close family members had access to that."

She smirked. "I have friends in very high places." She chuckled at his expression of disbelief before adding "Just kidding, my boss knows a guy there, I said he asked me to fetch them as an errand and voila!"

"I never thought you were so corrupt." Ren said, grinning. Kyoko rolled her eyes.

"Oh, be quiet! It's not like I'm gonna use them for something illegal, and the person in question is technically present." She ripped the envelope and pulled out a sheet. "Alright, Tsuruga Ren. Adopted son of Hizuei Kuu and Juliena. Twenty four. Intern at LML legal firm."

"I could have told you all of that myself." He scoffed.

She glared at him. "What does 'LML' mean, anyway?"

"Lory's majestic law." He said, making her arch an eyebrow. "Don't ask."

"Okay… So, graduated from the faculty of law at The University of Tokyo."

She kept reading the rest of his information in a low muttering voice. While he just sat on her bed and waited for her to finish up. Part of him thought she was just curious about him. He watched her silently until she suddenly stopped flipping the sheet she had been holding to check whether or not there was any writing at the back. He saw her look through the other sheets she already read before she raised her head and looked at him with an expression of dread.

"Ren?" She said, her expression turning curious, making him start at the sudden use of his name without an honorific. "I think you might not be dead after all."

* * *

 **A/N: I'd like to say that I'll stop ending my chapters with cliffys but that would be a lie XD Please review!**

 **Kris:** lol I know, I know poor Chiori had a bit of a fright XD I agree, I think I would've loved seeing this kind of prank irl but I don't mess with Ouija boards XD and yesss! teaming up Ren and Kanae was so much fun! I'm so glad you enjoyed that chapter, I hope this one will be to your liking as well! thanks for the read and the review! You have no idea how happy your support an kind words make me!

 **Guest:** Thank you so much XD I know, right? we should pair them up more often lol and make them do mischievous things XD Thanks for taking the time to read and review, it means a lot to me!

 **Japanda:** Thank you so much! I'm so glad you had fun reading that XD so what do you think? was this chapter half as good as the previous one? it sure has less action lol thans for the read and the cute review!

 **Thanks a million to everyone who's still reading this!**


	10. Chapter 9

Hi guys! I hope you're all good, it's been a while!

So I wanted to post this chapter and the one after it quickly so I didn't send this one to my beta reader because I didn't want to overwhelm her, meaning this one's not edited so let me know if there are any mistakes please! The next one should be edited however and I'll post it as soon as I heat back from her!

 **Enjoyyy!**

* * *

 ** _Previously..._**

 _She kept reading the rest of his information in a low muttering voice. While he just sat on her bed and waited for her to finish up. Part of him thought she was justcurious about him. He watched her silently until she suddenly stopped flipping the sheet she had been holding to check whether or not there was any writing atthe back. He saw her look through the other sheets she already read before she raised her head and looked at him with an expression of dread._

 _"Ren?" She said, her expression turning curious, making him start at the sudden use of his name without an honorific. "I think you might not be dead after all."_

* * *

 **Ch9: Almost confirmed**

Ren looked at her, dumbfounded. Did she just say…?

"What?"

"I can't find your death certificate." She said. "And there's no information that proves your death."

"Maybe they still haven't filed it in or something, just because a sheet of paper isn't there doesn't mean I'm not dead! Look at me, I'm a ghost!" He said sounding a bit on edge.

"Oh, right. You've been here for nine days, and you said you were dead for a week before that, so it would make you dead for what? Like sixteen days?" She said. "No one capable of doing their job would forget filing a death certificate for sixteen days!"

"Maybe they just forgot to put it in the envelope!"

"Ren, even your dental records are in here! Everything from your birth certificate to your school records is in this!" She smacked the papers on her desk, exasperated at his denial. "They didn't forget it! Even if they have, there are places in other documents that would point out that you're deceased. There's nothing in here that does!"

Ren put his head in his hands, leaning forward. "That doesn't make any sense! If I'm not dead then how come I'm … like this?" He gestured to himself.

"I honestly don't know." She said, running a hand through her hair. "Are you sure that you died when that car hit you?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

He looked at her like she was a lunatic. How could she seriously ask him that? A car crashed onto him so hard it smacked the soul out of his body, how could he have possible survived that?

"I mean, did you stick around to see the paramedics declare the time of death and put your corpse in a bag? Or did you attend your funeral or something?"

"I…No, I was sure I was dead since I became a spirit, so I didn't see the point of waiting for the ambulance." He said. "And what kind of twisted person attends their own funeral, anyway?" He said.

"That's not the point. The point is, we have no definitive proof that you're actually dead." She retorted as she started slowly pacing around.

"You mean besides the fact that I'm a spirit?" He said with, sarcastically.

"Why are you so against this, anyway?" She stopped her mouvement and looked at him, frustrated after this argument.

"Because if you're right…if I'm not dead, and I'm a spirit, then that would mean I belong to neither the world of the living nor that of the dead!" He took a deep breath. "That would mean, I'll be stuck like this for god knows how long, Kyoko!"

Her expression softened. She didn't see it from his perspective, she was just giddy at the thought he might still be alive. Now that he explained, she felt frustrated herself. "We don't know anything for sure yet." She said. "We'll go check the funeral homes, we'll also check the hospital records for the day of your accident."

"How are we supposed to do that?" He asked, sounding calmer, resigned even.

"My mom's a nurse, remember?" She smirked. "We'll sneak into the hospital and use her ID to check the computer database on her day off, easy peasy lemon squeezy."

Ren looked at her intently for a moment before shaking his head. "You really are corrupted!" He chuckled. "But won't that get her in trouble?"

"Only if we get caught!" Her smirk turned even more devious. "And who will be able to catch a ghost in the act?"

"Uh huh…" Yeah, he definitely wouldn't want to represent her in court any time soon.

"Okay, so we'll check the funeral homes tomorrow and check to hospital on Thursday since that's when my mom is taking her day off."

"What about school and work?" He reminded.

"I only have the morning period and my boss is closing the pharmacy tomorrow, he has a wedding to attend." She said as she started putting Ren's Identification papers back in the big envelope.

"Hey, Kyoko-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks…for doing this, I realize that I acted like a jerk when I blackmailed you into helping me out, but seeing you go all out like this for me…well, I appreciate it."

She froze mid-movement, taken aback by what he said. It's true that she started off helping him in order for him to leave her alone, but recently, that didn't even cross her mind. She just wanted to help. She wasn't doing it to get rid of him, she was doing it … for him? _'No, no, no! What are you saying, Kyoko?! He's the enemy!'_ A part of her she had always believed to be her sensible side screamed. _'But it's been fun having him around…' Her_ treachourous, less sensible but way more honest subconscious added.

 _'What? No, focus!'_

She internally shook her head and cleared her mind. She looked at him and smiled "You're welcome, Ren-san!" She said, deciding to tuck her sudden realization for later consideration.

"Ren-san?" His eyebrow was arched comically. "You've been calling me 'Ren' throughout the evening, don't you think it's awkward reverting back to the honorific right now?"

"H-Have I?" She asked, blushing. "I'm sorr-"

"Don't be!" Ren interrupted her apology. "I don't mind and besides I like it better if you ditch the honorific anyway." He smiled brightly and for a moment Kyoko wasn't sure about anything anymore.

"Oh…Okay." She said.

 _'I've been calling him Ren this whole time?!'_ She yelled in her mind before remembering Kanae's words from this morning, apparently, she didn't just 'slip' after all. 'See? You do like having him around!' Her inner demon whispered.

 _Oh, Damn._

* * *

"That was the last one." Kyoko sighed and plopped down on a bench. "None of them had a 'Tsuruga Ren' nor a 'Hizuri Ren' in their records." She huffed, making a stray hair bounce off her eyes.

"Perhaps I was…cremated?" He suggested, sitting cross legged on the ground, facing her.

"Um, most crematories go through funeral homes so they'd still have you in their record if you were cremated." Kyoko affirmed. She has done her research and she was now almost sure her dead friend isn't so dead after all.

"Then, the hospital records are our last hope to confirm my…vital state." He groaned. He really hoped he was right about the death certificate being forgotten, but now that they were sure he wasn't buried or cremated and unless his parents had him mummified or frozen or something, the chances of him being alive were quite high.

It didn't take them much time to go through the funeral homes since the receptionists were so kindly cooperative and he had to admit, Kyoko played the mournful girlfriend very convincingly. She had said that 'Tsuruga Ren' was her boyfriend and that his family was against their relationship so they didn't allow her to attend the funeral. She said she didn't even know where he was buried and that she really needed to at least visit his grave and pay her respects before moving on with her life.

Her little acting session made Ren's jaw drop. He didn't expect her to shed actual tears, but there she was, being handed a tissue by the kind receptionist who murmured her condolences.

Very K-dramatic if you ask him, but it got the job done and he had nothing to complain about.

Kyoko looked at him and saw him spacing out. Thinking he was swimming in melancholy again, she tried to think of something that would make him feel better and realized they still had half of the afternoon to themselves "You know, I still have your bucket list with me." She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a neatly folded sheet of paper.

"Maybe we can give one of these a try since we have some free time."

"You do realize that if I'm not dead, completing that bucket list won't make much sense, right?"

"Oh, don't be such a killjoy." She went through the items of the list. "How about this?' Making a bracelet out of one stone from every park in the area'." Kyoko read. "It's a sunny day and we have enough time."

"I don't know…"

"Oh, come on!" She pleaded. "Please?"

He looked at her pretty pout and her -fake- sad eyes, amused that she chose that expression to convince him. He didn't have the heart to say no after seeing how much she wanted him to go and quite frankly he didn't think he could even if he wanted to, Kyoko looked like a girl on a mission and he had a feeling she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Alright." He agreed, earning a cheer from her.

"There's a small park a couple of blocks away, let's start with that one!"

Ren and Kyoko cruised through Tokyo's parks, enjoying the scenery. The falling autumn leaves, colored in red, yellow, orange and caramel brown, the sudden flock of birds that would fly above them as it migrated towards warmer regions, the autumn breeze that blew through Kyoko's long, dark locks as they searched for the perfect 'stone'.

It all felt very romantic until a park keeper would approach Kyoko for her suspicious behavior. Which would make Ren squirm with laughter as she explained that she lost an earring or a necklace, ironically enough, since they were collecting stones to make a piece of jewelry themselves.

All in all, it was a pleasant afternoon. It got Ren's mind off of his predicament and it gave Kyoko an opportunity to have some fun. Besides the occasional sleepover with Kanae, she spent all her time studying and working, so this definitely was a nice change.

And Ren enjoyed seeing her act more like her age.

* * *

"Why don't you go to the room, while I go borrow one of mom's scrubs and a mask before she gets home." Kyoko said, unwrapping her muffler as she kicked off her shoes.

"Oh, so you're sneaking in wearing a disguise?"

"Well, duh! I'm not gonna casually walk in like a dummy!" She said. "Not everyone's invesible like some people."

Ren rolled his eyes -a habit he believes he picked up from Kyoko- and brushed away her words. "I thought that maybe you'd go pretending to be sick or injured or something."

"All my mother's coworkers know me so that won't be possible." She explained. "They'd call her saying they saw me and the next thing we know, she's have the doctor run full tests on me." She chuckled.

He snorted and shook his head exasperatedly. "Alright then, I'll be in the room.

After taking a neatly folded pair of light blue scrubs from her mother's closet, Kyoko joined Ren who seemed to be arranging the stones they collected on her bed.

"Oh, you're already starting?" She said, putting the scrubs in her backpack. "I found some thread and needles in mom's room, for the bracelet."

"Yeah, but how are we gonna assemble them? We'll need to make holes in the stones and that ain't easy." Ren grimaced.

"Bummer…" Kyoko thought for something that might help them. "Oh, we've got a drill with some small driver bits, that would do it!" She said before running downstairs to the tool box.

When she came back with the instrument, Ren looked at her with an uncertain expression.

"Are you sure you know how to use that?"

"Of course, since it's been just mom and I, I learned to embrace handy work." She said, screwing the small driver bit on the chuck of the drill. Looking at it, Ren thought it looked more fit for dentistry than 'handy work' as Kyoko said. The thing was ridiculously small, but it was just what they needed, he supposed.

They got started on their craft, piercing pebbles and attaching them together with a thread. Mixing and matching the different hues of the gravel. They were quite the sight, all serious and focused on their task.

"Well…It looks …decent." Kyoko said, as she observed the 'bracelet' from afar.

They had put it on her pillow and stood up a couple of feet away from her bed to admire their work.

"You can say it bluntly you know? It looks horrifying!" Ren chuckled. "It actually looks like something a woman from the stone age might wear."

Kyoko burst out laughing at that. "I'm pretty sure that even people from that time would have had a better sense of fashion."

"Still, it was fun making it."

"Totally!" Kyoko said, leading them to high five.

"Why exavtly did you put this in your bucket list again?" She asked.

"I don't know, it felt like I'd have a piece of Tokyo everywhere I go and I wanted to have it burried with me."

* * *

In the morning, Kyoko used the excuse of not finding her keys. Her mother said that she could use hers, and of course, since she had her hands busy making breakfast, she told Kyoko to get them from her purse. Which in turn allowed her to grab her mother's ID.

Ren leaned on the door frame and applauded her for her ingenious way of thinking. It truly was remarkable how she manipulated her mother to give her permission to delve in her purse.

"It's for the greater good!" She said, as she grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs for breakfast.

After filling her stomach and kissing her mother goodbye, she made her way out of the house along with the phantom.

Once near the hospital, she went to the underground parking and changed into the scrubs, she tied her hair in a bun similar to her mothers and secured the surgical mask over her ears.

"Meet Mogami Saena!" She said, spreading out her armsin a dramatic pose for Ren.

"You do look quite similar, the only way to recognize you would be through your nose and you already have that covered. Pun very much intended!" He winked.

She chuckled and walked towards the elevator. "Let's go, I have a chemistry test in a couple of hours, the quicker we get this over with, the better!"

* * *

 **A/N: At least it's not a cliffy right? Well, not exactly...**

 **Please let me know xhat you thought of this chapter, the more you review the more I'm motivated to write!**

 **Also, are there people who still think Ren's actually dead? If yes, tell me what are your theories about the lack of evidense that he is, if no tell me what you think happened?**

 **Love you all! Thanks for reading!**

 **Kris:** Lol yes, glad to be back even if it takes me a couple of months everytime xD and hmmm Ren is alive...or is he? XD well, I can't tell for sure that's why this chapter's titled 'almost confirmed' xD but yeah I'm really happy you enjoyed the previous chapter and I hope this one will please you too! Thanks a ton for the read and the cute review as always, love you!

Guest: Lol bomb dropped! XD glad you had fun reading that chapter, do tell if you enjoyed this one as well! Thanks a lot for reviewing!

 **Lolo:** Well, Monsieur/Madame is served! Do you like this chapter now that you've (hopefully) read it? Thank you for reviewing, it means a lot!

 **Guest2:** Awww you're too nice! I'm glad you're having fun with this story. Thanks a lot for your kind words and your support it means the world to me!

 **Guest3:** THANK YOU SO MUCH ZJFKZVJDDBFKAJ I'm so happy to hear you enjoy my writing and as for that one chapter is ADD, I do feel kinda guilty about it but c'mon I was -and still am- pissed at Ren and I had to let it out somewhere xD don't worry though, I will start writing fluff the moment he redeems himself lol Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a beautiful review!

 **Guest4:** Well, someone's in a hurry lol I would've appreciated to read your thoughts on the chapter before demanding an update but oh well, here it is anyway, hope you'll enjoy it! 


	11. Chapter 10

Hellew :3 So I still didn't hear back from my beta (hopefully because she's enjoying her summer not because anything bad happened!) so, I'm posting this unedited, I will repost the edited version as soon as I get it from her, but for now I want to get further with this story, so here you go! let me know if there are any mistakes please!

Enjoy!

* * *

 ** _Previously…_**

 _Once near the hospital, she went to the underground parking and changed into the scrubs, she tied her hair in a bun similar to her mothers and secured the surgical mask over her ears._

 _"Meet Mogami Saena!" She said, spreading out her arms in a dramatic pose for Ren._

 _"You do look quite similar, the only way to recognize you would be through your nose and you already have that covered. Pun very much intended!" He winked._

 _She chuckled and walked towards the elevator. "Let's go, I have a chemistry test in a couple of hours, the quicker we get this over with, the better!"_

* * *

 **Ch10: well…**

"Alright!" Ren followed her, making sure his 'physical state' was switched off, wouldn't want to knock something over by accident now, would he?

Kyoko walked in the hospital lobby, she nodded to the receptionists, making sure her Id was visible to them. One of them asked why she had a mask on and she smoothly pointed to her mouth, one of the receptionist concluded she had a 'root canal' surgery and she left it at that

"It wasn't a lie." She told Ren. "I just didn't correct her."

He didn't bother answering and just shrugged and gestured for her to keep going.

Having safely passed through the front of the hospital, Kyoko made her way towards what she called the 'archive room'.

"When I was young, my mother would take me there with a coloring book and ask me to stay out of the way until she finished working." She explained when Ren asked her how she knew her way around.

Opening the door, she slipped inside after making sure there was no one around and silently closed it after her. "Alright! We're in!" She had said.

"There's one thing I'm curious about, though…" Ren said as she sat behind the computer. "What if I'm not in this particular hospital?"

"No worries. A couple of years ago, there was a law that instructed hospitals to merge their electronic databases*. It was said that the decision was made to make things more 'organized' but my mom told me that it's because it made things easier for the police to locate criminals and assault victims." She said, while typing in her mother's Id code to access the record software. "So, even if you're not in here, we'll have your record AND the name of the hospital you're in!"

Ren looked at her for a moment. "Ever been told you're smart in a creepy way?"

"Very often, actually!" She smiled when Ren's record was displayed on the screen. She skimmed it trying to locate the time of death or something that would indicate he was, in fact dead. And then her breath caught.

It took her a moment before she blinked and regained her senses. She brushed a hand over her bangs and said "Well, it's official, you are very much alive!" **(A/N: Hurray! the moment we all waited for and all knew it would eventually happen XD come on, let's stop pretending we're surprised)**

She took a few screenshots and emailed them to herself while Ren numbly watched the door. He didn't know what to make of what she had just told him. He knew that him still being alive was a probable option, but he had hoped that maybe, just maybe, there was a mistake somewhere and he held on to that hope the entire time, as foolish as it was.

"Done!" She exclaimed after logging out and clearing the history. Ren just followed her, still half dazed as she got out of the room and made her way through the hospital, they got out from the ambulance entry to avoid raising suspicions with the receptionists and went back down to the parking to fetch her backpack.

Once she changed back into her normal clothes, Kyoko tapped on her phone to see the screenshots she had taken earlier. Ren stayed silent as she read what was written on them. "It says here that you've been in a coma for the last sixteen days. There are a few notes I don't understand, so we'll have to confirm that with Kanae." She frowned. "The medication administration seems normal, some ant-inflammatory, muscle relaxers and pain killers." Kyoko sighed. "You have a couple of broken ribs, a broken leg and you seem to have suffered from internal bleeding, they fixed that in the surgery and stitched up your head…"

"So, what exactly do all of this tell us?" Ren asked, frustrated at all the technical speech.

"Nothing, oddly enough." Kyoko started walking. "I e-mailed the pictures to Kanae, she might get more from it since it's her field."

"So, what do we do now?" Ren asked, hoping he didn't sound as lost as he was feeling.

"Now, I have a chemistry test to pass and you have to go home!" Kyoko said. "We'll talk more when I come back this evening."

"Alright, I'll see you then."

Each of them went on his way, Kyoko caught a bus to her school and Ren walked home, looking very depressed. He was grateful that Kyoko managed to keep her cool at least and didn't overreact or do anything to stress him further.

* * *

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"Moko-san, you tore my eardrum!" Kyoko whined.

Kanae had seen her e-mail and called her to discuss things, when she asked how she got those pictures Kyoko told her what she and Ren did this morning and let's just say she wasn't reacting too well at the story.

"Mo! Kyoko what were you thinking?! Forget the fact that you could've gotten in trouble, did you even think what this might do to aunt Saena?" Kanae yelled. "Mo! She could have her license taken!"

"I made sure not to get caught, you forget I had a ghost with me!" Her friend retorted.

"Ughh! You're impossible!" Kanae huffed, still not believing her best friend would act in such a way.

Ren watched Kyoko talk on the phone, feeling guilty. It was his fault that she was being scolded and her friend was right about the trouble she could've got into because of him.

"Anyway," Kanae spoke again after taking a calming breath. "From what I gathered, Ren had received the standard first aid in the ambulance, they cleared his airways and stabilized him. His heart stopped beating while he was being taken to the hospital, they performed cardiac massage and gave him an adrenalin shot. Once in the hospital, I believe he was immediately taken to surgery since there're no records of any treatment in the ER. They relieved the pressure from the brain hemorrhage and the internal bleeding in his rib cage. Stitched up his head, and put his leg in a cast. So far, so good. He was stable and normally he would wake up a few hours after the surgery."

Kyoko listened intently to the briefing. "But he didn't." She bit her nails. "Why?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell, Kyoko. Maybe If I see his chart? There are a few additional notes there that might help me say what happened." Kanae answered in a tired voice.

"I see." Kyoko sighed. "Well, thank you Moko-san, I owe you one."

"Kyoko, are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you found out that your ghost isn't in fact a ghost. Now that you know Ren's alive, it got much more complicated than trying to help him cross over."

Kyoko paused for a moment, she didn't have the time to process all of this. At first it was about making sure he wasn't dead, but now that they all know that he's alive, what should they do?

Ren was taking it much better than she'd expected. Either that, or he was still numb from the shock. He spent the evening silently sitting on the pink armchair. He didn't make any sarcastic remarks, bad puns or silly jokes. Hell, he didn't even ask what their next step is.

"It'll be alright." Kyoko finally said.

"I'm not asking about 'it' I'm asking about you! How are you taking this?" Kanae snapped.

"I'm not." Kyoko chuckled feebly. "Not yet." She didn't know how to take it, this wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence.

Kanae let out a deep sigh. She didn't say anything for a moment before she softly spoke. "I'm here for you, you know? You can call me whenever you want to talk."

Kyoko smiled, she knew how awkward Kanae must've felt saying that. "I know Moko-san. I'll call you. Good night."

Kyoko sat on her bed. Her expression at the moment matched Ren's. They both seemed quite lost and they, in fact, were. Everything seemed so unreal this morning, but after Kanae's words, it sunk in. Tsuruga Ren is still alive. And at the same time he wasn't. His soul was out of his body which was in a comatose state and they had no idea how that happened or how to undo it. It wasn't about completing a bucket list or finding a 'light' anymore. It wasn't about helping him cross over to the realm of the dead. It was about … what in earth was it about, now?

Well, trying to get his soul back in his body for one. But how exactly did it leave it in the first place? That's what she just couldn't-

"Oh…"

"What?" Ren spoke for the first time that evening, intrigued by her appearant realization.

"Well, I was thinking how your … soul, managed to escape your body." She said. "Kanae said that, according to your medical record, you had a cardiac arrest when you were in the ambulance. The paramedics managed to fix that, but what if that's how you ended up like this?"

"You forget one thing!" He said. "I was out of my body way before the ambulance arrived, if my heart had stopped then, then I'm sure I would have been declared dead on the spot instead of being taken to the hospital."

"I realize that, what I'm saying is, that perhaps you were supposed to get back inside your body once you were stabilized and out of the OR, you see? Like once your body was well enough to take you back in, but what if your heart failure, caused you to stay stuck outside. Your body thought it was dead and closed the 'portal', the way your soul would take to get back in." She said, making Ren look at her like she was a lunatic.

She huffed, feeling a bit like an idiot. "Look, I realize how this sounds, but how else would you explain it?"

Ren looked at her, contemplating her question before letting out a sigh of his own. "I don't know. I'm not sure about anything anymore."

"And more importantly, why didn't you wake up from your coma?" She asked.

"Didn't you just say it's because my body thinks I'm dead?"

"No, I said that was the reason your soul got stuck outside. Medically speaking, you should have been up shortly after you got out of the OR. You were stable, which means your body would have had no reason to keep your soul trapped out, it would've known that you weren't 'dead' anymore and allowed it to get back in and once that happened, you should have woken up a few hours later." She explained.

Ren laughed weakly, after listening to her theory. "This is … one hell of a mess!" He said, putting his head on his hands. "And frankly, I don't know what to do."

"I do." Kyoko said, making him snap his head up to look at her. "We're gonna pay your parents a visit!" She declared with a wide smile.

"We're-WHAT?!"

"You heard me!" She said. "We'll visit your parents."

"Wh-How exactly is that going to make any difference?" Ren questioned, panicking slightly.

"Well, who would the doctors keep up-to-date of your condition? Your parents!" She reasoned. "We need to know why you didn't wake up after the surgery, so we're gonna go ask your parents!"

"Wasn't that mentioned in the records?"

"Not everything is mentioned in the official record. Some things are left out, such as notes and speculations. If a doctor guesses something without confirming it, he doesn't have the right it put it in the medical record. However, stuff like that can be found in paper charts. Or better yet, he could have told something to your parents."

"Well, if that's the case why don't we just sneak in my hospital room and take a look at that chart!"

"Do you think I can sneak into every hospital in the country? For starters I don't have an Id I can borrow for the hospital you're in, and I'm sure I won't be allowed to visit you, since there's no way of confirming I'm in any way related to you, and even if I were, the doctor would probably not tell me anything due to doctor-patient confidentiality."

Ren sighed and closed his eyes with a pained expression.

"What's wrong?" Kyoko asked, getting closer to him.

"My parents… let's just say that we haven't been in good terms lately." He said. "In fact, I haven't seen them in two years."

"Wh-Why?" Kyoko frowned, her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.

"Dad and I had a disagreement when I was in my last year in law school." Ren took a shaky breath before resuming. "He wanted me to work in his firm, I wanted to build my own career, independently. We had a fight and I moved out. They tried to contact me after that, but I was too stubborn and refused to talk to them thinking they were trying to convince me to go back."

"Ren." Kyoko spoke with a gentle tone. "You've been in an accident and currently are in a coma. I'm sure the last thing on your parents' mind right now is a silly argument from two years ago."

"Yeah, well I'm not so sure about that. In fact I wouldn't blame them if they didn't even visit me."

"Well, then you have nothing to lose do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'll be the one visiting them, it's not like they can see you, right? What's the worst that can happen? You find out you're right and earn the right to tell me 'I told you so' or you prove me right and see how much they're worried about you."

Ren looked at her, thinking about her words and trying to find a counter argument, but when he couldn't find any and when she fixed him with her determined look he caved in. "Fine, do what you want."

* * *

That night, Mogami Kyoko didn't sleep. She stayed up, thinking of how things had turned out. They had agreed to go visit his parents in the morning, since it was going to be Saturday and her boss had phoned her earlier in the day to say he was taking care of the pharmacy himself, something about a control check or whatever. She kept thinking how she would approach Ren's parents. How does one usually address the parents of a person who had been in a car accident and was still in a coma? No matter what Ren said, they must be devastated. Adoptive parents or not, he said they tried to contact him after their disagreement, that means they still cared about him, right? So it would only be natural that his current states would break their hearts.

She thrashed in her bed and turned to see what time it was on her phone, only to find Ren staring at her.

"Can't sleep?" He asked, his face was illuminated by the light of what seemed to be an electronic device.

"Yeah," She sat up, pulling the comforter closer to her. "Now that I think about it, you said you never sleep. What do you usually do at night?" she asked him.

"I usually stare at your sleeping face until sun rise." He said, idly.

Kyoko's eyes widened. "That's not creepy at all." she said, her voice laced with sarcasm which made Ren chuckle.

"Just kidding! I usually play on your phone since turning the T.V on might wake you up and the light from your laptop would make your mom suspicious." He said, waving the electronic device -which she now recognized to be her phone- in her face.

"Hey! So that why the battery's always dead in the morning!" She narrowed her eyes at him, before smiling slightly. "I was starting to think I need to replace it."

"So why can't you sleep?"

"I was thinking about your parents." She said. "What are they like?"

Ren hesitated before putting down the phone and turning to face her. "My mother is a drama queen." He said, earning a snort from Kyoko. "And so is my father." He added, making the snort turn into a chuckle.

"My mom's really beautiful, she never seems to be aging. She's a wedding planner, ironically enough since she married my father, the divorce lawyer." This made Kyoko smile widely. "She's very stubborn and capricious, always gets her way." He smirked. "Kinda like you!" looking at the ground, he kept going. "My father is one of the strongest men I've ever known, but he never won against her. She's probably his only weakness."

"Tell me about your dad." Kyoko smiled, sinking lower in her bed.

"Oh, he's this vicious attorney in court, super intimidating and very serious. But once he's home, he turns into this huge goof ball." Ren suppressed a laugh. "He's a doting dad. The worst thing you could do, is ask him about me, he'd spend hours going on and on describing this unrealistic creature with features that don't even come close to what I'm like. And he's so fun to be with, he'd turn a tedious day into an adventure, no sweat."

Kyoko smiled wider, thinking how much Ren must love his parents. In his mind, they were perfect, you could tell from the way he smiled as he talked about them.

He kept telling her about them, and threw in a couple of stories from his childhood making her laugh at times and coo at others. They kept going until sunrise, neither of them feeling the time pass.

* * *

"Wow…your house is…big." Kyoko swallowed at the sight of the huge mansion, Ren had said that his father owned a law firm so she'd expected them to be rich, but this was way beyond what she had imagined.

"You should see the inside, it's a freaking maze I got lost a few times when I was a kid…" He said, standing beside her as they faced the entry gate.

"How does one get lost in their own house?"

"I was eight and we had just moved in, my parents didn't own this place since the beginning." He said, smiling proudly. "They had to start from the bottom!"

Kyoko smiled. "This actually gives me hope for my and Kanae's clinic dream." She said, making Ren encouragingly pat her on the shoulder.

"Alright, so let's revise our plan one last time."

Last night, they had agreed to tell Ren's parents that she was his friend. He told her a few facts that she can use as proof. This way his parents would trust her and share the information they need.

"I've told a lifetime's worth of lies ever since I've met you!" She had said.

"It's for the greater good." He retorted, quoting her words from before.

Without much delay, Kyoko pressed the interphone button on the wall and waited.

"Who is it?" A female voice inquired.

"Hello, my name is Mogami Kyoko, I'm a friend of Ren's, I was hoping to speak with his parents?" Kyoko said, nervously.

"Hold on." The woman seemed to inform someone of Kyoko's presence before she buzzed her in.

At the front door, Kyoko and Ren were met by a beautiful blond lady -who didn't seem older than someone in their mid-thirties- and a blond man, who seemed to be aging just as gracefully.

The woman hugged Kyoko and said "Welcome, sweetheart." That took Kyoko by surprise, and as the woman pulled away she noticed how pale she seemed, she had dark circles under her red rimmed eyes, probably from crying and the lack of sleep. The man seemed to be more composed if not just as tired as he nodded with a kind smile.

Kyoko bowed and greeted them. "Good morning, Hizuri-sama."

"Hush now, any friend of Ren's is not allowed to be formal around us, just call me Julie and he's Kuu." Ren's mother scolded.

Ren looked longingly at his parents, his eyes tearing up. He hadn't expected to see them this way. Any doubts he had from last night now vanished as he saw how they treated Kyoko. His parents ushered her to the living room and asked one of the staff to bring them tea.

Kyoko nervously clenched her hands in her lap. She looked up at them and smiled. "I should

Introduce myself properly. My name is Mogami Kyoko, I've been Ren's friend for less than a year now." Technically, it wasn't a lie. She was indeed Ren's friend and they had met well under a year. "I heard about his accident and I went to the hospital to visit him, but I wasn't allowed in. They said only relatives were allowed to visit him." Kyoko took a deep breath. She wasn't even acting, talking with Ren's parents wasn't easy, especially since she felt like she was deceiving them. "I was hoping that maybe you'd tell me more about his condition?"

"First, Kyoko-chan, you would understand that we would want some sort of confirmation of your relationship with our son." Kuu said, trying to sound as polite as he could.

"Kuu!" His wife scolded.

"I'm just being careful, honey. She understands, right?" He looked at Kyoko expectedly.

"Of course!" Kyoko smiled. "Ren had confided in me about how things currently were," She started, she realized speaking of such matters might seem rude, but it was the only thing she could think of to make her and Ren seem close. "He told me that you haven't spoken with each other for a while because of the argument you had about his career, he said that he regretted his stubbornness and that he missed you." She smiled gently at both of them.

"I did not!" Ren yelled.

"He did, he really seemed like he missed you a lot." She added, making him blush in embarrassment.

"He did?" Kuu said, with a shaking voice.

Julie started crying quietly. It really broke Kyoko's heart seeing them like that but she knew that it was necessary.

"Yes."

"What do you want to know sweetheart?" It was Kuu who said this, to Kyoko's surprise, hugging Julie with one arm.

* * *

 **A/N:Well, well, well look who made an appearance XD Did you guys like this chapter? Do you have any theories regarding what's to come? I don't wanna make what I write about reviews, but they do motivate me to write and what you guys say sometimes inspires me even, so talk to me guys!**

*Okay people, I just made that up xD if there is indeed such a law in Japan I don't know about it (and tbh I'm too lazy to research it XD)

 **Kris:** XDDDDDDDDDD lmao you guys are so adorable, like almost everyone's waiting for Ren to wake up so that he would woo Kyoko and get together with her XD Now, I'm not sure what you guys want for the progression of the story but I'm planning something that would make 'em wait a bit longer so buckle up kids, we're a couple of chapters away from the next arc! (yes, there will be another arc XD) Thanks a lot for the review, Kris!


	12. Chapter 11

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

Hello, people! Here's a new, big, fat chapter for you! Enjoy it and make the most of it, the next one will be a game changer ;)

This isn't edited so let me know if there are any mistakes, please!

* * *

 _ **Previously...**_

 _"First, Kyoko-chan, you would understand that we would want some sort of confirmation of your relationship with our son." Kuu said, trying to sound as polite as he could._

 _"Kuu!" His wife scolded._

 _"I'm just being careful, honey. She understands, right?" He looked at Kyoko expectedly._

 _"Of course!" Kyoko smiled. "Ren had confided in me about how things currently were," She started, she realized speaking of such matters might seem rude, but it was the only thing she could think of to make her and Ren seem close. "He told me that you haven't spoken with each other for a while because of the argument you had about his career, he said that he regretted his stubbornness and that he missed you." She smiled gently at both of them._

 _"I did not!" Ren yelled._

 _"He did, he really seemed like he missed you a lot." She added, making him blush in embarrassment._

 _"He did?" Kuu said, with a shaking voice._

 _Julie started crying quietly. It really broke Kyoko's heart seeing them like that but she knew that it was necessary._

 _"Yes."_

 _"What do you want to know sweetheart?" It was Kuu who said this, to Kyoko's surprise, hugging Julie with one arm._

* * *

 **Ch 11: It's on!**

"Well, what his current condition is, to begin with." She said, leaning forward, elbows resting on her knees, she was firmly clasping her hands together.

"Ren's in a coma. He has been since after his surgery the day of the accident." Kuu said as he kept stroking Julie's back soothingly, his sad smile waning just a bit.

Kyoko looked down at her feet dejectedly. For Kuu and Julie it only seemed like she was affected by what she was told, but in truth she was trying to compose herself enough to ask the next question without feeling like she'll burn in hell for tricking them like this. Guilt is a strong feeling, especially for a girl who felt like she was doing everything wrong in the last few days. As good as her intentions were, tricking Ren's parents didn't sit well with her.

"I see." She took a steadying breath before continuing. "And what did the doctors say about that?" She bit on her bottom lip nervously after attempting a kind smile.

"The head surgeon had told us that he was stable after his surgery. In fact, they were expecting him to wake up shortly after." Kuu said, frowning as if he still couldn't understand could have gone wrong.

"But he never did." Julie chocked out.

"Did they say why?" Kyoko frowned, bidding herself to stay strong in the face of the broken-hearted couple.

Ren, on the other hand, held his breath, waiting for the answer.

"The doctor said his vitals were normal and that his brain activity was, as well. He said that Ren's comatose state was like he was in a very deep slumber." Kuu's frown deepened as if he couldn't reconcile himself with what he was saying. Kyoko could tell nothing regarding Ren's condition made much sense to him.

"Is that so?" Kyoko ran a hand over her face and pinched the bridge of her nose, becoming both depressed and frustrated. She had known all that Kuu had said from Ren's medical record. She had hoped the doctors had said something, _anything_ , that might help.

But she wasn't one to give up so easily. She looked at Kuu and Julie with pleading eyes. "If you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you on your next visit to the hospital." She said, ignoring Ren's gasp.

Julie sniffed and smiled gently at her. "Of course, honey. We'll also let the receptionists know that you're a family friend so that they'd allow you to visit."

"Thank you, really." Kyoko reached a hand to squeeze Julie's hand in consolation and smiled gratefully at both of Ren's parents.

"We were planning to go visit him today, actually. You can come too, if it suits you." Kuu said, standing up and bringing Julie to her feet as well.

Kyoko followed suit and brushed her hands down her outfit, straightening non-existing wrinkles before squaring her shoulders and looking up at him with her answer. "Yes, please!"

* * *

It truly was weird.

Standing in that white room, filled with the smell of antiseptic and the incessant beeping of machines.

But that wasn't the weird part. What Kyoko found weird, was seeing the physical version of the ghost she got accustomed to.

He…well, his body, was laying on the hospital bed. An oxygen mask was strapped to his ears. He was wired to the machine positioned next to the bed with a few sensors stuck on his chest and one of his fingers.

He looked quite well, for someone in a coma. His face wasn't lacking any color, his hair was neatly combed, courtesy of his nurse. He also seemed to breathe normally. It was like Kuu had said, if you take away the hospital bed, the oxygen mask and the machines, Ren just seemed to be peacefully sleeping.

But what completed the weirdness of the situation, was having Ren there as well.

One Mogami Kyoko, one Hizuri Julie, one Hizuri Kuu and a pair of Tsuruga Rens. Yup, there was no way this could have gotten any weirder!

"He looks … asleep." Kyoko commented, pointing out the figurative elephant in the room and adding to the awkwardness of the situation. She had wanted to say he looked healthy, but that would be insensitive to his parents. A bedridden, comatose man was everything but healthy, after all.

Ren snorted at that. "I bet you thought of sleeping beauty just now, didn't ya?" He grinned at Kyoko teasingly.

Kyoko pursed her lips in a desperate attempt to suppress the snort that threatened to escape her, trying hard not to roll her eyes either, doing that would be most inappropriate to his parents. She lowered her head to hide her face and started unwrapping her scarf then she put it on the bedside table.

After all, expecting her to keep a straight face when imagining Ren in a nightgown with long, blond hair fanning across his pillow and a rose between his crossed hands was a bit too much.

"How about we give you some time alone with him? You might have things to say..." Julie said, putting a comforting hand on Kyoko's arm before she and Kuu got out of the room.

As soon as they were out, and with a quick prayer of gratitude for that timing, she ran to the end of his hospital bed, grabbed his medical chart and took a few photos with her phone. Once she was done she turned to Ren. "Do you want to say anything?"

"What, to myself?" He snorted incredulously.

"Never mind. Let's just go."

* * *

"Thank you for telling them to let me visit." Kyoko said as she walked with the couple to their car. They had offered her a ride home and she gratefully accepted.

"Sure! It would do Ren good to have some company other than the two of us." Kuu smiled. "I'm glad you became his friend, he wasn't always very … popular. Regardless of his looks, he was more of a workaholic than a party boy."

"Oh, thanks dad! Wing man of the year!" Ren said, sarcastically even though the only one with the ability to hear him was Kyoko.

Kyoko smiled at Kuu indulgently and just then, a gust of wind blew their way, prompting her to bring her scarf closer to her chin to snuggle to its warmth, only to realize she had forgotten it in Ren's hospital room. "Why don't you two go ahead? I forgot my muffler and I need to go back and get it from Ren's room. I'll just take the bus home." She told the older couple.

"Are you sure?" Julie said, looking uncertain. "We can wait for you." She offered looking at Kuu who nodded with a smile.

"No, it's better if you go, I wouldn't want to inconvenience you any further and I had a few errands to run before heading home anyway." Kyoko smiled and bowed. "Thank you for everything!" She said.

"No problem." Kuu smiled, ruffling her hair in a way only close people would.

"Until next time. Please take care." She said as she ran back towards the hospital.

"What are you scheming?" Ren asked, running alongside her.

"Nothing, I really did forget my scarf!" She huffed, her breathing getting harsher from the exercise.

When she reached her destination, Kyoko went inside the room and grabbed her muffler from the bedside table. Right as she was about to get out, the doorknob turned, and she quickly went to hide in the adjoining bathroom.

"Why are you hiding?" Ren said following her inside, looking amused at her behaviour.

"I don't know I just panicked. I thought I might get in trouble if I were caught here without your parents." She whispered, looking through the small crack of the door she had left slightly ajar.

The person who had entered Ren's room seemed to be a doctor. Kyoko saw him take out two bottles from his white coat's pocket and inject the solution in Ren's I.V. It was weird because, as far as she knew, it was the nurse's job to do that.

He added to her suspicions when he walked out of the room without writing the medicine he had injected in Ren's chart.

So Kyoko being Kyoko, she decided to follow him.

"Okay, why are we following the doc?" Ren asked, idly walking beside her with his hands in his pockets.

"He's shady!" She whispered.

"A doctor, in a hospital." He mocked. "Very shady, indeed."

"Shhh!"

"You hush, he can't hear me!" He reminded her.

Kyoko stopped at a corner and watched, from behind a wall, as the man threw something in a trashcan . She waited for him to walk away before she went to see what it was.

"What would your mother say if she saw you rummaging through the trash!" Ren joked.

Kyoko just ignored him and reached for the two little glass bottles inside. "I told you he was shady! what kind of doctor disposes of medical waste in a normal trash can! These need to be…properly..." She suddenly froze as she read what was written on one of the bottles. She sat on one of the seats, pulled out her phone and tapped on it to access the pictures she had taken earlier.

"That son of a bitch!" She whispered, her breathing becoming labored as she stared at the small bottles resting in the palm of her hand.

"How rude! Your mommy would be very disappointed!" Ren chuckled at her rather vulgar insult to the doctor who didn't properly dispose of his trash. He kept laughing, completely failing to read the atmosphere.

"That explains it all…" Kyoko said looking at the opposite wall, it seemed like she hadn't even heard what he said.

"Hmm?"

"This is so…"

"Kyoko-chan, you're scaring me."

Kyoko turned her gaze to her friend with the most serious of expressions. "Ren! This is an anesthetic." She held up one of the bottles. "And this is a blood pressure medicine." She said, raising the other.

"Charming!" He smirked teasingly. As if he cared what kind of stuff was in those bottles!

"No, you don't get it! Why would a doctor give an anesthetic to a comatose patient?" She asked. "And why would he give them a blood pressure medicine if they were stable? Besides he didn't even log it in your chart. Why?" She cried.

Ren shrugged. "Beats me. I'm a law intern, I don't know how you guys in the medical field run the show!"

"Well, I do! He's been putting you in a medically induced coma!" She yelled. "These are the reason you won't wake up!" She hysterically shook the two bottles in his face.

Ren blinked. He was having a hard time catching up with what she was telling him.

It was a good thing that that particular hallway seemed to be deserted, if anyone saw Kyoko yelling by herself, accusing a doctor of drugging a patient she'd be taken to the psychiatric ward on the spot.

"Hold on, are you saying that doctor is the reason I'm…like this?"

"Yes!" She said. "Well, No I mean the drugs he's injecting you with, are. At least the anesthetic is! The blood pressure drug is to make it seem like you're stable. The anesthetic reduces blood pressure which would make your doctor suspicious but if your blood seems to be circulating normally, your doctor wouldn't suspect anything irregular, he wouldn't try running any more tests and he would never know you've been taking the blasted drug in the first place!" She took a deep breath. "And that bastard would get away with it like nothing ever happened."

"So, that doctor has been purposely drugging me to keep me from waking up? He didn't make a mistake or anything…well of course not, he's a doctor!" He ran a hand through his hair. The situation stopped making any sense and he honestly didn't know how to react.

Kyoko nodded absently. "But why?" She whispered, more to herself than to him. "Do you know that doctor?".

"I don't know, I've never even met the guy!" He snapped.

Kyoko nodded again. She seemed to be deep in thought for a couple of minutes before she snapped her head up towards him once again and said "We need to get you out of here!"

"What?" He must've heard her wrong, _there is now way she just-_

"Well, if we wait for a few hours, the drugs will get out of your system and you're likely to wake up. But that will never happen as long as you're here, with that evil doctor doping you!"

 _... apparently, there is._

"But how are you planning to get me out? In case you haven't noticed. This place is full of people. And, I'm not exactly pocket sized!"

This seemed to knock some sense back into her. "You're right." Kyoko said, staring at the empty space. "We need a plan."

* * *

It was obvious they weren't going to come up with a plan for smuggling Ren's body out on the spot. So after calming her down, Ren told Kyoko to head home, and think of something there.

Which brings us to the current situation.

Kyoko was sitting in her room with Ren and Kanae who dropped by on a surprise visit, she asked Kyoko about Ren's situation and if she managed to find out anything else and since Kyoko found out the cause Ren was in a coma, she didn't want to involve anyone else in this matter anymore so she just said that she decided to give up and wait for Ren to wake up from his coma on his own.

"So you're telling me that you're letting this go?" Kanae asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Well, yeah. It's not like I can do anything else anyway. As you said, it's not about helping him cross over anymore so there isn't much I can do to help except keep his spirit company." She shrugged, hoping her lie sounded credible enough to one of the people who could read her the best.

"Okay." Kanae looked unconvinced but decided to drop the subject for now. "Is he here by the way?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"Ren, no offense but can you take a walk for a moment? Girl stuff…" Kanae said, looking at the void.

He looked at Kyoko and pointed his thumb to the door. "I'll be in the garden, if you need anything."

Kyoko then turned to Kanae and nodded, informing her that he was no longer in the room.

"Okay. Confession time, missy! What's this 'giving up' matter all about? Knowing you, you would've kept at it until he woke up." Kanae narrowed her eyes at Kyoko who was now nervously pulling on the hem of her dress. she figured something was up when Kanae asked Ren to leave.

"I… I don't know what you want me to say, I really am giving up." Kyoko avoided eyes contact, adding to Kanae's suspicions.

"Are you now?" When Kyoko nodded Kanae got closer to her, making her look up. "Are you, by any chance… hoping that Ren wouldn't wake up from his coma so that he would stay by your side?"

Kyoko's eyes widened, she could feel the blood drain from her face. At first she couldn't say anything, then she sputtered incomplete sentences before she frantically shook her head. "No! Why would you think that Moko-san?!"

"Well, I don't know it seems like the only explanation to your statement." Kanae huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Besides, you've been _warming up_ to him lately, haven't you?"

Kyoko's cheeks colored, the contrast with her pale face making them look tomato red. "Still, how awful of a person do you think I am to hope for something like that? If there was anything I could do to help him wake up, I would be doing it right now!"

It was true, she was about to risk everything and break him out of a frigging hospital after all.

"Yeah, I know it's just… it's convenient this way though, isn't it?" Kanae's voice held no malice, in fact she was looking at Kyoko with gentle eyes. "After all, if he wakes up, you'd have to deal with an actual person. Maybe get in a relationship with him, give your heart to him." Kyoko gasped, finally catching up to where Kanae was going. "But if he stays a ghost, you can just keep ignoring your feelings and still get to keep him close. Win-win situation." She smiled sadly. "And you wouldn't get hurt _again_."

Kyoko bit hard at her lower lip and looked away from her friend. "I don't want to talk about _that_ , Moko-san." She said in a tone that brooked no arguments.

"Then when will you deal with it, Kyoko? You have to eventually."

" _Kanae_. Enough."

Kanae knew that when Kyoko used her given name she'd better drop the subject, and drop the subject she did.

* * *

After that, Kyoko closed off and got less talkative to Kanae's chagrin. They chatted a bit about school and work and whatnot before Kanae decided it was time for her to go home. Kyoko walked her out before she set off looking for Ren, resolved to stop thinking about what Kanae had said.

"There you are!" She said, walking in the garden. He was crouching down, looking at one of their garden gnomes.

"Did Kanae go home already?" He asked.

"Yeah. She told me to pass her goodbye." Kyoko crouched down next to him. "What are you doing?"

"I was looking at this … thing." He said, narrowing his eyes at the decorative figure. "It's so creepy, I feel like it's staring at my soul." He murmured. It didn't take much time for him to notice his unintended pun and look up with a smug, but tired smile.

Kyoko rolled her eyes, in good nature. "I bet you feel so proud for saying that." She scoffed.

"You have no idea." He grinned.

Their attention was drawn back to the gnome who was now lying on its side, knocked down by something that went by so quickly they didn't even catch what it was. Not a minute later, they heard some noise before seeing the end of a furry tail disappear behind a potted plant.

"Ugh, it's ' _him_ ' again!" Kyoko growled.

"Him?"

"The ghost of the raccoon that knocked down my trash can the last time." She explained.

"Oh! Let's go check it out!" Ren got up and walked to where ' _he_ ' had hidden.

"Why? Let's just leave it alone." Kyoko whimpered, but Ren was already kneeling over the plant, reaching for the object of her revulsion.

"Kyoko-chan, check this out!" He said animatedly.

Kyoko hesitated before joining him. He was holding what seemed to be a gray... kitten?

"How does anyone confuse a kitten with a raccoon?" He smiled teasingly at her, stroking the ghost's head.

She glared at him before turning wary eyes to the … creature that rested on his lap, curled around itself and enjoying his caresses.

"What's with that face!" Ren laughed. "It's just a little kitty~!" He sang childishly causing her to smile a bit. "Why don't you try to pat it?" He offered. But Kyoko just turned horror-struck eyes at him.

"What? No! It's a ghost!" She frantically stated the obvious, shaking her head.

"Oh, come on! What's the worst it can do, haunt your garden?" He snickered. "Didn't you say you'll change your approach with ghosts?" He challenged.

Kyoko looked at him uncertainly. He was right, she did say she'd try to 'chill' a bit the last time they had to deal with a personal-space-invading ghost.

"Come oooon!" Ren encouraged. "It's really soft!" He said just as the kitten let out a small 'Meow' sound. He chuckled and scratched its ears. "See, it wants you to pat it!"

Kyoko chuckled as well, she had to admit the kitten was really cute.

And _he_ was cute.

And together, they made an adorable sight.

So, ever so slowly, she reached her hand to touch it. Her hand hovered above the kitten's head before she finally ran it over it in a very light movement. This made the little fur ball mewl again which in turn made both Kyoko and Ren chuckle and coo over it.

"See? It wasn't that hard was it?" Ren said, smiling softly at her.

No, it wasn't.

* * *

After playing with the kitty for a while, Kyoko and Ren got back inside. Her mother came home from work shortly after. She had brought some takeout with her. They ate and routinely talked about their day before retreating to their rooms for the rest of the evening. It was still early but Saena seemed exhausted and Kyoko wanted to let her rest.

The young lady sat at her desk, scribbling a drawing of her 'hospital break' plan, circles and arrows with words like 'equipment', 'transportation', 'hide out' and 'wake up' were written on it.

At first, Ren thought it would be better to let her be and just sat in his armchair, playing on her phone and glancing at her occasionally but when his curiosity got the better of him, he asked her how far she had gotten with her work, hoping that she wasn't so focused on what he thought it were and was instead doing school work or something.

"According to their website, a week from now, there will be a seminar at the hospital you're held in, we'll take advantage of that as there will be less doctors and nurses walking around the hospital halls and we will get your body outta there!" She stressed her statement with a tap of her pen.

Ren nervously crossed his arms and shifted his weight from one leg to another. "Are you sure about this? We're talking serious jail time here in case you get caught, I don't even think the best lawyer in LML can get you out of that kind of mess." He warned. He honestly didn't want her to go through with it, in fact he was regretting showing her his parents' house to start with.

" _If_ I get caught! Which I won't. This isn't my first rodeo, remember?" She smiled up at him.

"Taking a few screenshots and taking a full body are two different things, Kyoko-chan!" He informed.

"You don't say." She rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm being very serious here, you're not considering the circumstances." What kind of lawyer would he become if he tolerated this kind of criminal behavior? Even if he knew her intentions and why she was doing it, if she gets caught, the law will only see it the way it looks like, a kidnapping attempt.

"Well, what else can I do? Leave you there like that until your body rots?" Kyoko said, with a biting tone. "No, we're doing this. _End of discussion_." She then got up, got her pajamas and went inside the bathroom.

That was the second conversation she had put an end to that day, and with that Kyoko called it a night.

* * *

It was finally the D-day.

They were going to get his body back. Kyoko had it all planned to the T and she was determined to see it through despite Ren's protests. He was seriously amazed how someone could go from being so text book disciplined to plain revolutionary under certain circumstances.

She had gone there under the pretense of visiting him, walking confidently and smiling at the receptionists.

Last night, she had told him that as soon as there an opening would present itself, she would get his body out of his room. Ren had argued that she was relying too much on dumb luck, that she was bound to get caught, that there was no way she can manage to get a full body out of a hospital even if most the hospital staff was at the seminar but Kyoko said that she wasn't planning on doing that, she was only going to hide his body in another hospital room until he wakes up. The drugs shouldn't take more than a day to wear off according to her, and she believed she could manage shifting him around the hospital for that long.

Hopefully, when the drugs do wear off, he would wake up and his spirit would find its way back inside his body. And then, getting him out of the hospital would only be a matter of formalities.

That made Ren agree to it, albeit reluctantly. He was still convinced that there would be a better way to do it, but he was too overwhelmed by Kyoko's aggressive determination to risk going against her anymore than he already had.

So there he was, by her side as she was double checking his vitals. She had taken off the wires that connected his body to the various machines, assuring him that they were only monitoring his condition and not doing any vital tasks to keep his body alive. She then attached his serum bag on an IV stand. She had paid meticulous attention to everything she was doing and when she was certain that all was in order, she moved to put his body on the wheelchair that was in the corner of his room and asked him to go out to keep watch.

Just as she put her hand under Ren's head to start moving him to the chair, an ominous voice boomed through the room.

"I'm afraid I must ask you to stop right there, young lady."

Kyoko instantly froze. This is it, this is the end for her. She'll go to jail and Ren will never wake up from his coma. Her mother will die of heartbreak and Kanae will cut all ties with her.

It's over.

* * *

 **A/N: I was waiting for the 100th review to post this chapter, but since I didn't get it I'm ending the chapter with this cliffhanger 3:)**

 **Lol, just kidding! I was gonna end this chapter this way no matter what XD so THANK YOU FOR 99 REVIEWS!**

 **Wow! It's been a little over a year now since I started this story and you guys have deemed it worth 35 favs, 76 follows and 99 reviews and we're only on the 11th chapter! Honestly, thank you so much for keeping me company as I'm writing this, and thank you for all the attention and love you're giving it! I just love you guys!**

 **...Does the way the story is going seem like 'Just like heaven' starring Reece Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo? That's probably because when this fiction was just a oneshot in 'A Different Dawn' I had told a guest reviewer that things would probably go that way in order for Ren and Kyoko to end up together, and I did plan to do just that until recently but there has been a change in plans now and I'm taking a very different direction so don't be too quick to judge!**

 **Next chapter will reveal what happens to our little couple, don't miss it ;) It'll be the start of another arc (if you guys like the way I want it to go, anyway), and boy am I excited!**

 **Guest:** And I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU! thank you so much for reading and leaving me a review, it warms my heart! I hope you'll keep loving this story

 **Kris:** Awww, tbh I teared up writing it too XD I just love those two! Not sure about him waking up soon since Kyoko seems to have gotten herself caught red handed XD Thank you so much for reading and all the lovely reviews! Honestly, I think of you more as a comrade than a reader at this point, you've been so supportive since like forever and I love you for that! I hope you'll enjoy what's to come!

 **Lennie:** LMAO fam your adjective game's too strong XD 'super dupes amazeballs' might be my new favorite thing to say XDDD and I am glad you guys aren't sweating the technicalities! As for the romance, I'm not saying it'll happened in the next chapter but the next arc will allow me to throw in more fluff... hopefully XD Seriously, though I am planning to add in more romance to this, I'm not sure if it'll be good or not though, you will be the judge!


	13. Chapter 12

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

Hey, there! So this is the chapter that marks the beginning of a new arc! and I'm sooo nervous about it! It's also not edited so, let me know if there are any mistakes, please!

Enjoy!

* * *

 ** _Previously..._**

 _"I'm afraid I must ask you to stop right there, young lady."_

 _Kyoko instantly froze. This is it, this is the end for her. She'll go to jail and Ren will never wake up from his coma. Her mother will die of heartbreak and Kanae will cut all ties with her._

 _It's over._

* * *

 **Ch12: Say what, now?**

She slowly turns around to face her jailor and the moment her gaze falls on him, her expression turns from ashen to livid.

"You! You're the one who's been drugging Ren!" She roared. "If you think I'll let you get away with it, you're wrong, mister!"

"Mogami-san, please calm down!" The doctor said, calmly adjusting his glasses.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down!" Kyoko barked, her anger flaring. The gal of this man! How can someone so guilty act like they have nothing to worry about? "And how the hell do you know my name?"

"We have been watching you for a while, if you would just let me explain-"

"Whoa! So you're a stalker too!" She shuddered. "I'm calling the cops!" Kyoko didn't even have the time to pull her phone out of her pocket before she found herself pinned to the wall. Her eyes widened, her heartbeat increased and adrenaline shot through her body. Was this what people call a fight or flight situation?

"Mogami-san, I really wish to avoid resorting to violence but you just can't seem to cooperate!" The man twisting her arm behind her back snarled.

Kyoko's panic increased, she didn't know how things could've gone so wrong, this wasn't supposed to happen!

Ren! She had sent him outside, but maybe she can call out his name, he would-

"Kyoko-chan, what's taking you so-WHAT THE HELL?!" Kyoko wanted to kiss the ground for her answered prayers, Ren came back inside the room, he can save her!

Without missing a beat, he jumped at the bespectacled doctor, planning to throttle him for what he was doing to Kyoko, but he had barely even touched him when the culprit threw himself on him and pushed him on the wall with an arm pressing on his neck, incapacitating his shoulders.

"Will you listen to me now?" He glared at Kyoko who was now speechlessly gaping at the scene before her.

"You can see Ren." She muttered.

"Clearly." He answered, huffing and trying to keep Ren from struggling.

* * *

The doctor escorted Kyoko and Ren to the morgue, he had presented himself as Yuki and said that he was a 'guardian' and said that he would explain further about Ren's condition and what a guardian actually is in their headquarters. Kyoko didn't think it was a good idea to trust a complete stranger at first but then she figured he was their best shot at finding out what happened to Ren and to be fair, her self-preservation instincts were practically non-existent at this point so she agreed to follow a man, who could easily hold both her and Ren captive, to a hospital morgue, where he can kill her and hide her body without anyone being the wiser.

Dr. Kuresaki had said that the morgue was their best chance at finding a 'portal across the veil' and when Kyoko asked what that was he, once again, said that he would explain further at the headquarters.

Now, Kyoko did think that the man was insane, but she knew that with her walking around with a ghost on her side would make it a kettle-pot thing. Nothing made much sense in her life, not since a long time anyway.

So here they were, all three of them, standing facing the doors of the morgue before Kuresaki-san pushed them open and asked the other two to follow him inside.

When Kyoko and Ren crossed the threshold, she felt a slight breeze graze their skin, dotting it with goosebumps and leading her to rub her arms to recover the lost heat.

But as soon as they were on the other side of the door, she lost all feeling in her limbs. Instead of being inside the morgue, they found themselves in what looked like an empty mess hall.

The place was dark, the walls were painted grey and the tables and chair were made of some sort of metal. There were ceiling fans turning above them and a stairway that lead to an upper level right beore the room ended.

Most importantly, there was no sign of a hospital.

Kuresaki-san asked her to take a seat at one of the tables and she numbly obeyed, still dazed from what she had just experienced.

Ren's whistle brought her out of her trance. "Did we just cross to another dimension?"

* * *

"Not exactly." Their guide spoke as he took the chair facing Kyoko's. "It's more accurate to say we crossed to a hidden part of our dimension." He said, once again adjusting his glasses. "The other side of coin, if you will."

"Where exactly are we?" Kyoko's voice came out in the form of a trembling whisper. For all the insanity she has experienced in her life, this felt so unreal.

"We're at the guardian's quarters. On the other side of the veil."

"The veil?" Ren asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes. In our world, the veil keeps the living from seeing what they are not supposed to see. Ghosts are one of those things." He paused to let what he had just said sink in. "A person on the other side of the veil does not have such a 'barrier' and can see everything clearly."

"What exactly is everything?" Kyoko asked.

"Our quarters for instance, Tsuruga-sa and other spirits amongst other things."

"So, hold on you're saying you took us to a place where humans can see ghosts like it's a normal thing?"

"No, the only humans on this part of the world are guardians." Kuresaki sighs. "We only become capable of seeing 'ghosts' when we cross the threshold to the other part of the veil."

Kyoko huffed. She looked around her and then rubbed her face. "I don't even care about this anymore, I've learned a long time ago to let things be. What I want to know is why you keep injecting drugs in Ren's system?"

"To keep him safe of course." declared as if he was saying something evident.

"You're gonna have to elaborate a bit more, doc." Ren leaned on the table.

"A few days before Tsuruga-san's accident, he was being we discovered that he was in danger, he was targeted by a party I'm not at the liberty to disclose and we agreed that something had to be done to protect him." Kyoko was about to speak but he held a hand up to keep her from interrupting. "You see, the sole purpose of the guardians is to protect both humans and the lingering souls. When we established that a lingering soul who has gone astray was seeking to harm Tsuruga-san, we decided to intervene, and since it is easier for us to handle things beyond the veil, we-"

Kyoko's gasp kept him from saying anything else. "You caused Ren's accident!"

"They what?" Ren snapped up, his stance stiffening.

"That is correct."

"Why?!" Kyoko cried.

Dr. Kuresaki let out a long suffering sigh. "As I said, it is easier for us to handle things beyond the veil. We needed to separate Tsuruga-san's soul from his body, so we caused his car accident."

"Oh, that's nice." Ren said, sarcasm lacing his words. "It's funny that I don't remember being asked about this, though!"

"We didn't have time to try to convince you that you were in danger nor to cooperate. It had already been established that you were a clever albeit logical young man, not to mention stubborn, you would've never had allowed the parting of your soul from your body in time."

"Why exactly is it easier for you to protect Ren in his ghost form, and why is that other ghost after him?" Kyoko asked, trying her best to make sense of all that has been said.

"As for the reason he's being targeted we still don't know much, and to answer your other question, Ren's body is in a place relatively close to our quarters and there is constantly a guardian keeping watch on it." He took a breath before continuing. "And his soul is almost impossible to track as long as he keeps a low profile, besides there is a guardian around you two in case his whereabouts were ever to be discovered."

"What do you mean? There's another stalker around?" Kyoko hissed.

"Not really, it is-"

Just then the double doors of the mess hall were thrown ajar, and in walked a familiar face making Kyoko stand in surprise.

* * *

Kanae wordlessly drags Kyoko through the halls of the guardians' HQ despite the latter's protests. She abruptly stops in front of a door, throws it open and practically shoves Kyoko through it before she follows inside.

She locks the door behind them and stays in that position for a moment, taking a calming breath before slowly turning around to face Kyoko.

When she does, she looks incensed.

"What. Were. You. Thinking?" She says, in a deceptively calm voice.

"I don't-" Kyoko doesn't manage to say more than that before her friend interrupts.

"What on earth got into you?" Kanae stomped her foot. "I should've known that that 'giving up' business was too good to be true." She let out a tired sigh. "How do you think I felt when a colleague calls me saying they have you in the guardians' quarters after catching you trying to sneak Ren's body out if the hospital, huh?" She was planning to keep the scolding go on for a while but Kyoko would have none of it.

"And how do you think I felt when I saw my best friend burst through that door in a 'Mission impossible' get up holding a damned Katana!" Kyoko bellowed, pointing to the sword that was now strapped to Kanae's side. "How come this is the first time I hear about this? I tell you everything, Kanae, and you hide something this huge from me?"

"You tell me everything, huh? So how come you didn't tell me about this little rescue mission of yours?" Kanae countered. She was a bit taken aback by Kyoko's outburst but she recovered quickly.

"I didn't want to involve you. I thought it would save you the trouble of lying to the cops in case I got caught, I didn't want them to think you were my accomplice or anything." Kyoko said, this time letting the hurt plainly show in her voice.

Kanae narrowed her eyes at her. "No. You didn't tell me because you knew I would try to convince you not to do it. You knew I would talk some sense into you and show you how ludicrous that plan was. You just wanted to do as you pleased without intervention from anyone." Kanae crossed her arms and cast a reprimanding look on her friend.

Kyoko huffed out a humorless laugh. "You seem to be so sure of everything, I don't see why I should say anything else at all." she said, walking towards the door which was still blocked by Kanae's figure. "Move away." She said.

"We're not done here." Kanae hissed.

"Yes, we are." Kyoko pushed her to the side, swiftly unlocked the door and marched out, leaving a dumbfounded Kanae behind.

* * *

"So..." Ren said, standing in the corner of the room. "Are you really a doctor or is injecting stuff in people's IVs all you can do?" He didn't care how stingy he sounded. His body was held hostage without his consent, after all. Protection or no protection he believed he had the right to be upset about that. Moreover, Kyoko had been dragged away by an incensed Kanae whom he still had no idea how she fit in all this.

Kuresaki-san adjusted his spectacles. "No. I am, in fact, a doctor at the hospital you are being detained at." He answered, calmly.

"Uh huh. And don't you people take some sort of oath?" Ren asked, leaning his head against the wall. "Is holding people's bodies against their consent a part of your job description?"

Kuresaki-san sighed deeply. "I am aware you must be feeling wronged, Tsuruga-san, but I have already explained our reasons for doing that, I honestly fail to see what else I can do." He said, rubbing a finger against his temple. He had spent the night and the better half of the morning working shifts at the hospital and now this.

"Well, I don't know. Let me go, maybe?" Ren shrugged.

"You and Mogami-san are free to go whenever you want, no one is holding you captive."

"I'm talking about my body, genius." Ren snarled earning a glare from Kuresaki-san.

"I already explained that is out of the question." The doctor said, holding back from gritting his teeth at the bonehead ghost.

"Well, I-"

"Leave him alone, Ren. He's been guarding your sorry excuse of a human body for 20 hours." Kanae ordered, walking inside the grand room, looking furious.

"Well, look who else can see and hear me." Ren let out a harsh laugh

"Don't test me, pretty boy. I'm not half as patient as the good doctor here." She said, tilting her head towards Kuresaki-san before turning to talk to doctor in question. "Kyoko didn't come here?" She asked.

"No. It's been just the two of us since you escorted her out."

Ren snorted at Kuresaki-san's choice of words. Escorted her out, indeed.

Kanar sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't have the patience for this." She muttered to herself. "Can you go look for her?"

Kuresaki-san raised a questioning eyebrow but didn't say anything. "Of course." He walked out of the room to do just that.

"Did they treat you guys well?" Kanae asked, taking off her trench coat and draping it over a chair.

"Well, doctor strange there pinned us to the hospital wall for a few seconds, good times..."

"He did what?" Kanae groaned. "I don't really care what you did to earn that but I'm sure that was unnecessary in Kyoko's case." She huffed, seriously offended that one of the guardians would mistreat her friend.

"Ouch." Ren feigned a hurt expression. "For your information, lady, I earned that because I was trying to get him off Kyoko-chan."

Kanae just hummed at that.

"What happened Kanae? One day you're Kyoko-chan's stoic friend, the next you're a ghost hunting samurai?" Ren asked, sounding as confused as he felt, no longer willing to play this guessing game.

Kanae scoffed at that. "I'm not a samurai, I barely even get to use this thing." She tapped her weapon.

"Okay, well, how come you're a part of this? Last time I checked you couldn't even see or hear me."

"Obviously I could but pretended not to." She deadpanned. "I had to keep it a secret to keep Kyoko safe."

"For how long? Have you always been a guardian?"

Kanae sighed, resigned to the fact that she couldn't avoid the inquisition. "Take a seat, pretty boy."

* * *

Kyoko sighed in frustration, biting back the urge to kick the wall.

She had gone off on her own after her fight with Kanae and now she was lost. This place is basically a maze. Every corridor looks like the other and somehow there wasn't anyone around to ask for directions.

As if blowing up on her best friend wasn't bad enough.

That thought made her slide down along the wall and wrap her arms around her legs in depression.

She really felt betrayed, why didn't Kanae tell her the truth? Didn't she trust her? Kuresaki clearly said that once humans crossed the veil they become able to see ghosts, why did she pretend she couldn't see Ren?

A toxic thought suddenly came to her. Was Kanae just spying on her to report her plans regarding Ren and keep watch on him? She figured Kanae was the guardian Kuresaki had spoken about right before she got dragged out of that room.

She sighed deeply, blinking away her tears. This day was getting worse by the second.

"Please get up, Mogami-san we have chairs you can use." Kuresaki's monotone voice said, breaking her out of her musings.

"Just take me and Ren back, I don't want any chairs." She asked, sniffing and dusting her pants as she stood up.

"Very well." He said. He grimaced a bit before he spoke again, as if doing it against his better judgement. "I gather you had some sort disagreement with Kotonami-san?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She said.

Not ten seconds later she abruptly stopped in her tracks and turned to face him.

"Actually, what is it about you people that makes you think you get to meddle with other people's business and go around keeping secrets and...and...URGHH!" She rushed furiously.

Kuresaki-san cleared his throat uncomfortably. "If you are talking about Kotonami-san, I'm not sure what exactly she didn't tell you, but if it concerns her work here it wasn't exactly her choice, she was sworn to secrecy, we all are the moment we commit to this job. She isn't supposed to act like she can see anything normal humans cannot," Kyoko winced at the 'normal humans' part, as if she needed one more person to point out that she wasn't normal. "At least not as a civilian."

Kyoko didn't have anything to say to counter that, but it didn't mean that she liked it or that it made her feel any less upset.

She shook her head submissively and resumed her brisk walk back to where Ren was.

When they finally made it back to the mess hall, she avoided eye contact with Kanae and told Ren they were going back. Kuresaki-san helped them cross back and they found themselves in Kyoko's room.

"Creeps." She muttered. It unnerved her to no end to know that it was that easy for them to access her room.

"Someone's in a mood." Ren said, plopping down on his arm chair. He knew it was hypocritical of him to say that since he had been 'in a mood' himself before his chat with Kanae.

Kyoko glared at him before throwing herself on her bed, shoes, coat and all.

"You know that glare has no effect on me, right?" He challengingly stared back at her until she looked away with a huff.

"Come on, don't you want to talk about it?" He coaxed, leaning back on the chair.

When Kyoko didn't answer he thought it might be best to leave her be, most people are more willing to open up when they've had their space and time to sulk.

However, when two hours went by and she didn't move from her position Ren thought it was time to bring the big guns out.

Kyoko, on her side was busy agonizing over the events of that day, switching from the thought that her reckless actions could've put Ren in a deeper mess, to what happened with Kanae.

She was about to run through her mind everything that had been said earlier for the twenty seventh time when something weird happened.

A pair of socks floated by, followed by a beanie and then a scarf.

It took her longer than necessary to process what was happening before she turned a glare in Ren's direction.

He had sunk deeper in his chair and was now watching her from the corner of his eye, his hand over his mouth and trying hard to suppress his laughter. For a 24-year-old man, he was endlessly childish sometimes.

"Aren't you too old for this?"

Her annoyed look was too much and he gave up every effort to hold back his cackles.

"The look on your faaaaaaaze!" He wheezed, to her growing irritation.

When he was calm enough to note how unamused she was, he decided to pay a tribute to their first meeting, well technically their second but who's counting.

And with a flick of his wrist, a pair of mismatched underwear paraded by.

Kyoko's face flushed a deep red and she jumped at the flying garments. "Hey! Stop it you perv!"

Ren was vibrating in silent laughter, he was having too much fun with this and he knew that she'll make him pay for it ten folds later.

"Aren't you a bit too old for this kind of design?" He said, swaying a pair of panda panties over her head.

"HEY!" Kyoko was now jumping on her bed to reach them, holding what she grabbed earlier in her other arm.

"Lace? Let me guess Kanae bought you these." Now it was a black bra with lace trimming and Kyoko was on the verge of blowing up if the color of her face was anything to go by.

"REN YOU ASSHOLE, STOP THIS!" She shrieked, looking like a lunatic.

"Just be grateful I'm not doing this in front of your mom like I planned to before." He sniggered. "And now, la cerise sur le gâteau!" He announced theatrically before making her laundry basket hover above her head and flipping it with a twist of his hand. "Well, more like a basket of cerises." He guffawed.

Kyoko was instantly buried under a pile of clothes, she emerged from it with a groan that turned into hysterical laughter after she saw Ren's sheepishly excited smile. And he, soon joined her.

"Well, twas a difficult task, but I finally managed to get you to loosen up!"

Kyoko chuckled lightly. "You perverted jerk, I hate you."

"I'm not the one with the panda undies, darling." He shot back, making Kyoko throw a pair of jeans at him that just landed on the floor with a thump, missing him completely.

"What a day, huh?" He said after a long sigh.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Kyoko agreed, her tone slightly bitter.

"But, all things considered, it was a success."

"Suuuuuuuuuure." Kyoko snorted, rolling her eyes.

"No, seriously! You're not in jail," Which had been his main concern. "We got to know why I'm like this," He gestured to himself. "And we crossed dimensions, how awesome was THAT!"

Kyoko just laughed humorlessly. Apparently, Ren wasn't paying attention when Kuresaki said they didn't, in fact, cross dimensions.

"And I messed things up with my best friend." She added.

"Yeah... She told me about that." He said, scratching the back of his head.

Kyoko quirked an eyebrow questioningly but said nothing.

"It was weird talking to her firsthand for the first time, mind you!" He said to lighten things up. "But she seemed pretty upset about your fight."

"I don't know anymore, Ren." She exhaled miserably. "Like, we're talking about someone you've known for years, been best friends with for years, told your darkest secrets to, and then you find out they have a whole other life you don't know about? And what's with pretending to help with your situation and acting as if she was unable not to see you, anyway!" She knew that it was petty of her to hold that last part against Kanae since Kuresaki said they made him swear not to tell anyone, but the stubbornness in her just wouldn't let it go.

"Yeah, I admit that's a delicate situation," He started. "But listen she and I talked for quite a bit before Kuresaki-san brought you back and even though I could tell you all that's been said, I think it'd be best if you talk it out with her." He smiled, indulgingly. "You said yourself, she's been your best friend for years, have more faith in her."

She looked at his eyes as if looking for some sort of guarantee that it will all be alright. When he didn't look away, she smiled.

"I thought I was supposed to be the one helping you." She said, smiling sadly.

"Well, as long as I get to make your wardrobe fly..."

Kyoko threw her pillow at him groaning and burying her face in the pile of clothes that still rested on her bed as he laughed at her behavior.

* * *

 **A/N: Oooookayyy…, who's surprised? XD**

 **Do you guys like where this is going or should I switch back to the relaxed life our two leads were living? I had planned on a more subdued course of action when I first wrote this, but recently I thought this might be better.**

 **Seriously, though if I get more reviews saying they don't like the whole 'guardians beyond the veil' thing, I can try to take a less dark-fantasy track with this story, after all I am writing this for you guys!**

 **If you do like it, I will keep it up and we'll see how things go.**

 **But regardless of what you think, please, please, please say it honestly in the reviews! I really need to know what you think before posting the next chapter!**

 **Sara:** Thank you, I'm glad to be back! LMAO XDDDDDD No, he will be in a coma for a while longer but not until his last breath, rest assured XD I think you know now who the doctor is ;) Thank you for the review!

 **Kris:** Awww, thank you! Glad I could keep you on your toes lol XD I hope this chapter was good enough, if it isn't please tell me, as I said I'm counting on you guys to know if I should keep going this way or switch back! Thanks for the review!

 **Guest:** AND I'M JUST LOVING YOUR REVIEW! Thanks a lot for reading!

 **Guest/Sara:** (Not sure if you're the same Sara, so I'll answer this individually!) LOL Ikr? He is goofy to the point of being OOC in this fic, but I'd like to think he'd be this goofy if he acted his age instead of the mature gentleman persona! Thanks for the review!


	14. Chapter 13

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

Hello! So the last chapter was met with more surprise than displeasure which encourages me to keep going with the way I chose for this fic :D I always said this fandom was the most precious and I wasn't disappointed, I was very scared of posting that chapter and I am so glad to have your support, so thank you to everyone that reviewed it!

Now, about the last chapter XD Wow, you guys are just as emotionally driven as Kyoko, huh? XD No faith in Kanae whatsoever, eh? Well, I hope this chapter answers your questions about why our very own Moko-san dealt us all such a low blow.

I also love how **KetriaTM** said "Although I can't see how a clothes throwing perverted goofball like him could do anything to anger a ghost if he couldn't even see him/her..." about Ren, it was hilarious and I want to assure you that you will find out the reason for which that other ghost has been targeting Ren.

Anyway, all that said, please enjoy this chaoter and let me know if there are any mistakes please!

* * *

 _ **Previously...**_

 _"I don't know anymore, Ren." She exhaled miserably. "Like, we're talking about someone you've known for years, been best friends with for years, told your darkest secrets to, and then you find out they have a whole other life you don't know about? And what's with pretending to help with your situation and acting as if she was unable not to see you, anyway!" She knew that it was petty of her to hold that last part against Kanae since Kuresaki said they made him swear not to tell anyone, but the stubbornness in her just wouldn't let it go._

 _"Yeah, I admit that's a delicate situation," He started. "But listen she and I talked for quite a bit before Kuresaki-san brought you back and even though I could tell you all that's been said, I think it'd be best if you talk it out with her." He smiled, indulgingly. "You said yourself, she's been your best friend for years, have more faith in her."_

 _She looked at his eyes as if looking for some sort of guarantee that it will all be alright. When he didn't look away, she smiled._

 _"I thought I was supposed to be the one helping you." She said, smiling sadly._

 _"Well, as long as I get to make your wardrobe fly..."_

 _Kyoko threw her pillow at him groaning and burying her face in the pile of clothes that still rested on her bed as he laughed at her behavior._

* * *

 **Ch13: Explanations**

The next morning, Kyoko strengthened her resolve and texted Kanae to meet her in the park near her house. Ren had suggested she talk to her in a neutral, calm environment and they agreed that the park was her best shot at a stress-free place.

So she sat there, eating one of the muffins she picked up with coffee for her and Kanae as a peace offering.

She was trying to organize her thoughts and figure out what she was going to say to her friend, Ren had said that she should just let it flow but she didn't think that would be wise seeing how things went the last time she did something without thoroughly planning it.

"Hey." She heard her friend's voice along with the rustling of dry leaves being crushed under hesitant footsteps.

"Hey." Kyoko responded, craning her neck to look back at Kanae who stood behind the bench she had been sitting on, hands in her pockets and chin tucked in her scarf. Kyoko didn't know why she had expected her showing up in her guardians' get up, but she didn't. She was dressed like always.

"Take a seat." She said, moving to the side to make place for Kanae. "There's coffee and muffins, help yourself."

Kanae sat down on the edge of the bench as opposed to Kyoko who was leaning back on the chair, but didn't drink from the coffee or take one of the muffins, her hands were still in her jacket's pockets and she just stared at the ground.

"You said you wanted to talk?" She said, her gaze still trained on the dry leaves and dirt that covered the ground surrounding the bench. She didn't want to do or say anything that would aggravate Kyoko more and she honestly didn't know how else to behave, this was their first time having a fight. Was Kyoko going to sever her relationship with her? Was she still going to get to be near her as Ren's guardian? Those are the things she worried about.

"Yeah." Kyoko inhaled, brushing off the crumbs from her pants. "I thought we should discuss what happened yesterday after having calmed down."

She looked at Kanae to see her nod slightly but still not looking up. Her dark, silky hair had fallen to the side in a curtain that hid a part of her face and her eyebrows were furrowed.

"Do you wanna tell me about that guardian business?" Kyoko asked, taking a sip from her coffee cup.

"Sure, what do you wanna know?"

Kyoko thought she'd meet more resistance from Kanae when she asked about this subject, but she figured that her oath to keep her work as a guardian a secret was annulled after Kuresaki-san took her and Ren to the guardian's quarters.

"How long have you been one?"

"A few months after we first met. I was still on training then, I didn't get to go on missions or keep watch of a charge or anything, just watch and learn."

Kyoko's eyebrows shot up. That long? Their first meeting was almost eight years ago. Kanae had been a guardian for eight years?!

Kanae had always acted like she couldn't understand Kyoko's ability to see ghosts, she never said anything mean about it, never avoided her and tried to learn more about ghosts through books to help her. Was that all an act because she feared Kyoko would discover her secret?

Kyoko swallowed the lump in her throat and decided to blame the bitter taste washing over her mouth on the coffee. She steadied her voice and urged herself to calm down.

"How did you become one?" She asked, deciding to learn all the facts before letting her feelings overwhelm her once more.

"After we became friends, I took frequent trips to the library, reading about ghosts and all, you remember, right?" At Kyoko's nod, Kanae continued. "Once, when I was there I asked the librarian about an old book I had seen referenced in another one I had read before. He told me they might have it in the archives in the basement so I went there." Kanae took out a hand of her pocket to brush her hair behind her ear. "It was a dark, humid, dusty place, I honestly don't know how they managed to keep the books there intact." Kanae cleared her throat when she realized she was getting off course. "Anyway, I looked through the books there but I couldn't find it so I turned around to go back. That was when I saw a man standing at the foot of the stairs, dressed entirely in black. I freaked out at first remembering all the things your mom told us about stranger danger," Kyoko smiled slightly, it was her mother who taught Kanae how to be responsible and mature. Her house was always so crowded and she had many siblings so she was often neglected, and her own parents never bothered to teach her the important things in life beyond familial loyalty. "And I contemplated screaming and running before he said he didn't intend to do anything to me, and that he wanted to talk with me. He said we could go upstairs where the librarian can see us if I were scared to be alone there with him and I reluctantly agreed." She stopped to take a deep breath. "We sat at one of the tables, the librarian didn't spare us a second glance and he started talking about how he noticed my interest in ghosts and the supernatural. He said that he also knew I was your friend, and he knew about your ability. He said that he admired my courage and said that I was a good friend." Kanae winced, she didn't feel like such a good friend at the moment. "He told me that there was a way for me to be able to help and protect you, always." She looked up to meet Kyoko's eyes. "That got my attention. He then explained about guardians, what it meant being one and what they do, what I would be able to see and do if I agree to become one." Kanae swallowed. "I made him prove it and watched from the top of the basement stairs as he opened a portal towards the other side of the veil, walked in and then walked back out with another guardian who waved before disappearing once again. I was speechless but I believed him. I had read a lot about similar occurrences and I didn't have a reason to doubt it. I never doubted you could see ghosts, I never doubted there was another world out there."

"Right." Kyoko said in a barely audible voice. It was her turn to stare at her feet.

"I did have doubts, however, on why they wanted me specifically to become a guardian. Why didn't they ask you to become one as well? He said that contrarily to you who was always terrified of what you could see, I, was a more stable choice. He was basically calling me cold blooded and I knew that." Kanae smiled for the first time. "It felt like it would be nice to be able to always be there with you, see what you see, discuss it with you, sooth you when you freak out over a ghost or get you away from one when I saw it before you did, so I accepted. What was the worst that could happen? You had managed it your entire life, why couldn't I? We could be the two weird girls who everyone else avoids in recess, before Chiori, you were my first and only friend after all." Kanae sighed. "Little did I know that was never to happen. When I went back with Kuresaki-san to the guardians' quarters, that was him by the way, the man in the library. Anyway, when I went there, they told me I had to take an oath. I was sworn to secrecy. In short, I was never supposed to act like I could see ghost, or tell anyone of it. I felt a bit trapped at first, but I couldn't say that Kureasaki-san tricked me into it, he never said I could have chats about ghosts with you, all he said was that I could protect you from spirits who had gone astray. And when I realized that I could still do that, I decided not to back down. I'm not sure they would have let me do it, in fact. I had already crossed the veil and gained the ability to see things I wasn't supposed to see." She had a wistful look in her eyes and was about to say more when she heard Kyoko sniffle. She turned to look at her with a worried expression. "What's wrong?"

Kyoko inhaled and wiped at her face. She had listened in silence through most of it so Kanae had no way to know she had been crying.

"I didn't think you did it for me." She hiccoughed. "I was so mad at you for hiding it from me, I felt so betrayed I- It never occurred to me that I was the reason you became a guardian."

Kanae didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Well, I…I didn't really… I mean… you weren't." She stammered awkwardly, hardening her voice and sitting straighter. Her cheeks were red and she was frowning. Kyoko laughed at the familiar sight of Kanae trying to deny doing something emotion-driven and threw her arms around her neck. "I'm sorry for the way I behaved yesterday."

Kanae didn't push her away.

* * *

"So it took you three years to become an actual guardian?" Kyoko asked, eyes wide in wonder.

"Mo! Yes, it takes longer for some." Kanae flipped her hair and took another sip of her coffee.

"I wonder how long it took Kuresaki-san?" Kyoko wondered.

"Rumor has it he did it in two, and knowing him that's probably true. He's the most disciplined guardian in our sector." Kanae huffed.

" _Of_ _course_ , there are sectors!" Kyoko exclaimed, hands thrown in the air.

Her friend chuckled. "What? Did you think there are ghosts just in Tokyo city?"

"Well, I suppose I was too wrapped up in my own issues to think about it."

Kanae shook her head. Typical Kyoko.

"So when are you people planning to, erm, Y'know, Un-coma Ren's body?"

"I'm not sure. As soon as we catch the astray that's been after him, I guess. The order comes from above."

Kyoko sighed, pushing aside the fact that there are higher authorities the guardians have to answer to.

"So I'll be stuck with him for longer."

"As if _you_ mind!" Kanae snorted.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Kanae's face twisted in visible disgust as she watched Kyoko's cheeks redden. "Ew, it's already _that_ time?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure, you don't."

There was a silence before Kyoko felt composed enough to speak again.

"Aren't you guys worried about the side effects of Ren's coma? What if he never wakes up? What about brain damage?"

"Don't worry, the big guys say it shouldn't last much longer. According to Kuresaki-senpai it shouldn't take much longer before they have Ren's problem settled. Besides, they have their ways of insuring his safety from any sort of damage."

"Why is that evil spirit after him, anyway?"

"That, I don't know. It's rare that a lingering soul goes astray, when they do they exhibit strange behavior, they attack other spirits and humans, but this is the first time one has shown such resolve in harming a human. Usually, they just give up and move on to the next victim until we apprehend them." Kanae explained, breaking her muffin into small pieces.

"What happens if you can't catch him or whatever it is you do to them?"

"For Ren, we'll wake him up and have him moved somewhere else, kinda like witness protection program, does that make sense?"

Kyoko nodded.

"As for the astray, we'll try to bait him out. This one's very cunning. Most of them are sorrow driven, unreasonable even, which makes it easier to catch them, but he has shown signs of stability and level-headedness which makes us wonder why he's gone astray, why he's still lingering among the living to begin with."

"Of course Ren would attract the creepiest weirdo out there." Kyoko sighed, tiredly.

"And of course YOU would attract Ren!" Kanae guffawed. "We never planned to have you two meet, you know? We didn't even think it would happen. We kept tabs on Ren's soul of course, but when you called me that night going on and on about some ghost, I would've never guessed it was him, nor any of the other guardians at that."

Kyoko frowned in confusion. "what do you mean? You would've known if you kept tabs on him, wouldn't you?"

"When I say tabs, I mean a system that allows us to know if his soul was in danger, not around the clock body guards."

"Oh." Was all Kyoko said, once again leaning back in the bench. "You guys sure have some nice technology going for you." She added, feeling a bit dejected at not being able to share the cool aspects of Kanae's work.

"Not really, we just have a pact with some of the lingering souls, we protect them and let them lurk and in exchange they give us information. We asked them to keep watch on Ren and inform us in case anything off or dangerous was going around him, I suppose they thought you were another guardian since you could see him and thought nothing of it." Kanae shrugged.

Kyoko blew out a sigh. "All this talk about ghosts and guardians is getting me tired, let's change the subject."

"Sure. How's school going?"

"You don't know much about the word 'de-stress' do you?" Kyoko chuckled.

* * *

"Well, well, well. Look who's finally back!" Ren said when Kyoko barged through her own bedroom door. "Just because you made up with your bestie doesn't mean you get to neglect me. I've been so lonely." He pouted, using those stupid puppy eyes of his.

Kyoko clucked her tongue. "Forgive me while I cry for you." She knew better than to fall for his act.

"You should!" There is the real Ren! Irritating and childish. "I was so bored with nothing to do but read your journal, very boring by the way ..."

"You did WHAT?" Kyoko shrieked.

"Just kidding, I wouldn't go that far." Ren smirked. "Do you have entries about your old crushes in there? Did you write anything about me?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"NO."

"Oh, so I take it you did write something about me in the crush section."

"I DID NOT!"

"Wouldn't blame you if you did, I mean look at me? Who wouldn't want a piece of me?"

Kyoko was just too tired to retaliate do she just laughed weakly. The man is impossible. And he wasn't completely wrong. He was quite handsome. A pity he couldn't be more modest, though.

"So," He slowly walked towards her. "How did it go with Kanae?"

"It went well. Better than I expected."

"Really? Is that all you're gonna say?" Ren crossed his arms, once again manifesting his man-child tendencies.

"Well, what else do you want me to say? That I was an idiot? That I jumped into conclusions? That she became a guardian for my sake in the first place?" Kyoko huffed. Even though she and Kanae were on good terms now, she couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt and stupidity at her quickness of judgement. At the first sign of unrest, she had doubted the closest person to her and that didn't sit well with her.

"Wow, that's some serious bromance you guys have there. But I already know, she told me yesterday." He shrugged and got back to his armchair.

"Bromance? We're girls."

"So? I don't know what's the girly word for that."

Kyoko just laughed, shaking her head.

"I asked her how long they're planning to keep you in a coma, she told me it shouldn't take much longer, so I'll just have to bear your annoying presence meanwhile."

"Come on, you love having me here." He grinned. "We're friends now, aren't we?"

"Sureee. I just love being teased relentlessly." She rolled her eyes.

"And I love doing the teasing. Especially with those adorable reactions."

Kyoko felt her heart going off beat. Come on, Kyoko! He's just being his usual, playboy, self. No need to get worked up over it! god help her if she was blushing, he'd never let her hear the end of it!

Though his harmless complimenting didn't mean much to her, she found herself enjoying it and that went against her tendency to always disagree and bicker with him. If she stops thinking he was annoying -in that way Kanae must think of her- she doesn't know how she'd act around him in the future.

Their relationship was based on teasing, sarcasm and scolding –mostly on her part- and that was the only way she felt comfortable dealing with him. So, you'll understand why she'd be conflicted as to how she should react when he says something that isn't completely stupid or irritating. After all, blushing and rolling her eyes were two things on two different levels.

She realizes she has been silent for too long and clears her throat. "We'll see how adorable it will be when you're out of your coma and can't dodge my hits anymore." She smirks.

"Oh, so you do plan to keep me around after I wake up from my coma." Her smirk was wiped off at the sight of his.

Damn it! Will she ever learn to think before she speaks?

* * *

 **A/N: Voila! Kyoko and Ren seem to be making some teeny tiny progress, no? Don't worry, there will be more in the next chapter XD Let me know what you think of Kanae now in the reviews!**

 **Kris:** XD Yes, sir/ma'am! we're past the point of no return anyway now XD I hope you'll like what I have in store and thank you so much for your sweet reviews!

 **Guest:** Thank you so much, I'm so happy you're loving it! I'm loving your review!


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